List Of New Car Manufacturers

When we talk about automotive manufacturers, we mean the 14 major so-called OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), which today have more than 5 dozen automotive brands under their umbrella. These include Volkswagen, Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, GM, Nissan, Geely, Hyunday, Tata, etc.

Consolidation happened early on, around 1900, hundreds of small manufacturers emerged that often disappeared after producing only a few vehicles. Over time, more successful companies emerged and then consolidated and came together under one roof. Usually, new companies emerge when there are new opportunities that can lead to disruption. Those who follow developments in electric cars and autonomous vehicles know that we are in such a phase again. And with that, a number of new manufacturers have emerged in recent years, especially as far as electric car manufacturers are concerned.

The venture arm of the futurology institute 2bAHEAD Ventures drew up a list of just under 50 new such OEMs some time ago, to which I have added two more. Many of them emerged in the U.S. (more than 20) and China (more than 10), but also some in Europe and such exotics as Vietnam. Of course, this list is always just a snapshot that can change quickly. Here it is:

Not all of these manufacturers will survive, that’s quite clear, but new movement has come and is coming to the automotive sector due to the large number of new manufacturers in the last two decades. Not all are already on the market with a car, some are just about to, while others have already shaken up the market with their actions and forced traditional manufacturers to react.

We will probably see consolidation in the coming months and years, as we have in the past, where some of the manufacturers will disappear as quickly as they emerged, others will be bought out, and others will buy up their competition. And: there are also a whole bunch of new players coming into the game. Sony, for example, has just announced at CES 2022 that it wants to turn its Sony vision into reality with Sony Mobility.

This article was also published in German.