Which European Car Brands Are Owned by Chinese Companies?
Several of Europe’s best-known car brands now have Chinese owners, and one company accounts for most of them. Volvo, Polestar and Lotus are controlled by Geely, which also co-owns Smart and owns the maker of London’s black cabs, while MG, one of the most familiar “British” badges on UK roads, belongs to SAIC. On top of that, Chinese investors hold minority stakes in Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz. Here’s who owns what, and how big each stake really is.
| Brand | Home country | Chinese owner | Stake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volvo Cars | Sweden | Geely Holding | About 79% |
| Polestar | Sweden | Geely-linked entities | Roughly 60 to 66% |
| Lotus | UK | Geely (via Lotus Technology) | Controlling |
| Smart | Germany | Geely | 50%, shared with Mercedes-Benz |
| LEVC (London taxis) | UK | Geely | Owner since 2013 |
| MG | UK | SAIC | Owner |
| Aston Martin | UK | Geely | Minority, roughly 14 to 17% |
| Mercedes-Benz | Germany | BAIC and Geely’s founder Li Shufu | Each around 10% |
Stakes are approximate and change over time. Figures reflect published reports as of September 2026.
Geely: the biggest Chinese owner of European brands
Geely Holding is a privately owned group founded by Li Shufu, and unlike state-owned rivals such as SAIC and BAIC, it has built its European portfolio through a series of deals over the past fifteen years. The first and biggest was Volvo Cars, which it bought from Ford in 2010 for around $1.8 billion.
Volvo: one name, two companies
Geely owns about 79% of Volvo Cars, which listed on the Stockholm stock exchange in 2021 and is still headquartered in Gothenburg. But “Volvo” is really two separate companies. Volvo Group, which makes trucks, buses and construction equipment, is an independent listed company, and Geely is only a large minority shareholder there. So whether Volvo is Chinese-owned depends on which Volvo you mean.
Polestar, Lotus, Smart and LEVC
Polestar began life as Volvo’s performance arm before being spun off as a standalone electric car brand, and it listed on Nasdaq in 2022. Geely-linked entities hold roughly 60 to 66% of it, depending on how the holdings are counted.
Lotus was bought by Geely in 2017 and, over the last two years, its sports car business has been folded into the Nasdaq-listed, Geely-controlled Lotus Technology. We’ve covered that in full in our guide to who owns Lotus.
Smart is a 50:50 joint venture between Geely and Mercedes-Benz, the company that originally created it, and its newer electric models are built in China. LEVC has a very different story: Geely rescued the London Taxi Company from collapse in 2013 and revived it as LEVC, which builds London’s electric black cabs.
Geely also sits behind Lynk & Co, the Swedish-founded brand now majority-owned by Geely’s Zeekr.
MG: a British badge with a Chinese owner
MG is the clearest example on UK roads. The badge is British, but the company is owned by SAIC, a Shanghai-based state-owned group, after a convoluted history that began with the collapse of MG Rover in 2005: Nanjing Automobile bought the assets, and merged into SAIC in 2007. Our explainer on what MG stands for and who owns MG cars today covers the full story.
The minority stakes: Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz
Aston Martin isn’t Chinese-owned, but Geely is a significant shareholder (we’ve set out the full share register in our guide to who owns Aston Martin). It bought 7.6% in 2022 and more than doubled that to around 17% in 2023, becoming the third-largest shareholder. Reports in 2026 suggest the stake may have since slipped to roughly 14%. The largest shareholder is Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree consortium, at roughly a third, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund holds a similar stake to Geely’s.
Two Chinese investors each hold close to 10% of Mercedes-Benz Group: BAIC, the Beijing state-owned car maker, at about 9.98%, and Geely’s founder Li Shufu, at around 9.7%, who holds his stake personally rather than through Geely Holding. Neither stake gives control.
Why do Chinese groups buy European brands?
The reasoning differs from deal to deal. Volvo gave Geely an established premium brand and engineering credibility it couldn’t have built quickly from scratch. Lotus and Aston Martin offered performance-brand heritage and, in Geely’s own words about its Aston Martin stake, the chance to explore joint technology opportunities. For many of the smaller stakes the goal is partnership rather than control: a way to share platforms, batteries and software with a European name. Geely’s chairman is also widely reported to have a particular affinity for British cars.
Does Chinese ownership change the cars?
Less than you might expect. Lotus still builds its sports cars at Hethel in Norfolk, and Volvo Cars remains a Gothenburg-headquartered, Stockholm-listed company. What ownership has changed is investment, shared technology and, for some newer models, where they’re built: Lotus’s Eletre SUV and Emeya four-door are made in Wuhan, China, and Smart’s newer electric models are built in China too.
The bottom line
Geely has collected Europe’s brands one at a time, from Volvo in 2010 to Lotus in 2017 and a slice of Aston Martin, while SAIC took the MG name and BAIC took a slice of Mercedes. Many of these, from a Volvo to a London taxi, don’t read as “Chinese” to UK buyers at all. For the brands that do, see our family tree of who owns which Chinese car brand.
