Can You Really Say From Which Country a Car Company Is Anymore?

We have several cases and multiple ways to try to establish the nationality of automotive brands. Yet, all of them present some sort of flaw. Examine them with me. I bet you will not reach a conclusion – just like I didn't – unless you just stick to one of the criteria and defend it no matter what.

Let's imagine that the place where a company was founded determined it belonged there. If that were to define a brand's "citizenship," everything would be just fine, regardless of what happened next. Bugatti would be French, Nissan would be Japanese, Jaguar British, and Fiat Italian. Done deal, right? But take a closer look, and you'll begin to scratch your head about that criterium.

Bugatti was French when Ettore founded it. The brand eventually died, was bought by an Italian entrepreneur (Romano Artioli) in 1987, made the EB110, kicked the bucket again in 1995, and was bought by Volkswagen in 1998. Would it be correct to say it is still from France?

Nissan almost merged with Renault before Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan. That doesn't change the fact some of its platforms are French. Its largest market used to be the US, but China took over. With French platforms and most of its money coming from Chinese customers, can we still say Nissan is Japanese?

Jaguar was proudly British, and people still make fun of having a "Jaaaag." However, Tata bought it. Although it is still famous for reliability issues, does that make it a British brand? Guess which is the company's largest market? Yes, China again.

Fiat's name itself states where it came from: the acronym stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin. Yet, it is controlled by a company headquartered in the Netherlands, and its primary market is Brazil. Is it still Italian?

There are several other examples, including Morris Garage (MG), which SAIC purchased. It is not even made in the UK anymore. Is it British or Chinese? What about Land Rover? Volvo? Rover? DeTomaso? Lotus? These brands show the theory that considers where the company was founded to determine its nationality does not stand.

What if we determine that a company belongs to where its headquarters are? I have talked here about Stellantis, a carmaker that controls 15 brands. Six of them were founded in Italy (Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Lancia, and Maserati), four in the US (Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and RAM), three in France (Citroën, DS, and Peugeot), one in Germany (Opel), and one in the UK (Vauxhall). If you count Mopar as a brand, Stellantis controls 16. Its headquarters are in the Netherlands. Is it Dutch?

If that would be absurd, what determines Stellantis' passport? Most of its brands are from Italy, but is it Italian? Or is that decided by which are the most relevant brands, economically speaking? What if the brand decides to move its headquarters to the Virgin Islands, Switzerland, Andorra, or any other place that is more friendly to companies when it comes to paying taxes?

Geely is an interesting example of how difficult it is to say where an automaker comes from. Although there is no controversy about it being Chinese, it bought Volvo. When it did that, Polestar was just a performance division that Geely decided to turn into a BEV-only brand. Volvo also is heading in that direction. The Chinese company later made a deal with Mercedes-Benz that got smart under Geely's portfolio. Is it still French (if it ever was)? The Chinese titan also bought Lotus, which belonged to Proton before that. Is it still British?

Now check ZEEKR, Geely's premium BEV brand. The X brings in its door sills that it was designed in Gothenburg, not in China. Does that mean it is a Swedish brand? As my colleague asked, does it mean that Polestar and Volvo are Swedish despite their Chinese underpinnings and production?

There are only a few exceptions worldwide that have unequivocal origins and nationalities. Ferrari, for instance. It was founded in Italy, its production remains in that country, and its headquarters are also there. I struggled to find another example until Koenigsegg came to my mind. Rimac is also Croatian to the core, but they are probably a large portion of the automakers about which you will have no doubts. I honestly cannot remember any others while writing this.

Lamborghini was founded in Italy, and its manufacturing activities are still there, but Audi controls it. Porsche used to be as German as a brand can be, but the lineup expansion made it have a factory in Slovakia and Malaysia. The company also has an engineering center in Shanghai to pay attention to its largest market – guess which? Pagani was created in Italy, and its vehicles keep coming from that country, but it uses German engines. Apart from that, it has an Argentinian heart, like DeTomaso did.

All this made me remember that John Lennon once asked us to "imagine there's no countries." Perhaps it is right the opposite: the only reason for countries and nationalities to exist is that we imagine they are true and try to defend that as much as possible.

What use is there in determining to which country an automaker belongs? They have to pay taxes in all countries where they have operations, whether making their cars and selling them or importing them. People will determine the nationality of one of these companies for pride matters: if it is good, it is from my country. If it is lame, it is somebody else's problem.

Ironically, I realized my personal experience is not that different from that of these automakers. In fact, it is similar to what millions of people must also have. I was born in Brazil, but I live in Portugal. I am a Portuguese and a Brazilian citizen. I could also have an Italian passport, but I am still struggling to find out the exact "comune" in which my great-grandfather was born. If I eventually manage to comply with the legal requirements, I may say I have three nationalities.

What am I? What makes me Brazilian, Portuguese, or Italian? Is it being born in any of these countries? Is it speaking like most of the people who live there do? Is it having the same rights and obligations? I have thought about it for quite a while, only to realize these are probably the wrong questions. If they are not suitable for me, that must also be the case when we talk about cars and where they came from. What difference does it make? We should probably worry less about what apparently sets us apart and more about what makes us the same.