Britain’s car-making heritage is woven into its towns and roads, with marques that trace back a century of engineering, local workshops and industrial plants. That mix of boutique builders and volume manufacturers helps explain why car enthusiasts and researchers keep coming back to these lists.
There are 61 UK Car Brands, ranging from AC Cars to Wolseley; for each entry we list Founded (year),Headquarters,Status (short) — you’ll find below.
How did you decide which marques to include?
The list includes brands that originated in the UK or are historically identified as British, covering active, defunct and revived marques; subsidiary names are included when they’re commonly recognized as distinct brands, and niche coachbuilders or specialist firms are counted when they produced cars under their own name.
How should I use the Founded (year), Headquarters, Status (short) columns?
Use Founded (year) to see origins and eras, Headquarters to track geographic roots or relocations, and Status (short) for a quick snapshot (e.g., active, defunct, revived); together they make it easy to filter by period, place or current operating state when you scan the entries you’ll find below.
Uk Car Brands
| Name | Founded (year) | Headquarters | Status (short) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Martin | 1913 | Gaydon, Warwickshire | Active |
| Bentley | 1919 | Crewe, Cheshire | Active, owned by Volkswagen Group |
| Jaguar | 1922 | Coventry, West Midlands | Active, owned by Tata Motors |
| Land Rover | 1948 | Solihull, West Midlands | Active, owned by Tata Motors |
| Lotus | 1948 | Hethel, Norfolk | Active, owned by Geely |
| McLaren | 1985 | Woking, Surrey | Active |
| Mini | 2000 | Oxford, Oxfordshire | Active, owned by BMW |
| Morgan | 1910 | Malvern, Worcestershire | Active |
| Rolls-Royce | 1904 | Goodwood, West Sussex | Active, owned by BMW |
| Vauxhall | 1857 | Luton, Bedfordshire | Active, owned by Stellantis |
| AC Cars | 1901 | Thames Ditton, Surrey | Active |
| Alvis | 1919 | Coventry, West Midlands | Revived |
| Ariel | 1991 | Crewkerne, Somerset | Active |
| Armstrong Siddeley | 1919 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Ascari | 1995 | Banbury, Oxfordshire | Dormant |
| Austin | 1905 | Longbridge, Birmingham | Defunct |
| Austin-Healey | 1952 | Warwick, Warwickshire | Defunct |
| BAC | 2009 | Liverpool | Active |
| Berkeley | 1956 | Biggleswade, Bedfordshire | Defunct |
| Bond | 1948 | Preston, Lancashire | Defunct |
| Bristol | 1945 | Filton, Bristol | Defunct |
| BSA | 1907 | Birmingham, West Midlands | Defunct (cars) |
| Caterham | 1973 | Dartford, Kent | Active, owned by VT Holdings |
| Connaught | 1952 | Send, Surrey | Revived |
| Daimler | 1896 | Coventry, West Midlands | Dormant, owned by Tata Motors |
| DeLorean | 1975 | Dunmurry, Northern Ireland | Defunct |
| Elva | 1955 | Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex | Defunct |
| Frazer Nash | 1922 | Kingston upon Thames, Surrey | Defunct |
| Gilbern | 1959 | Llantwit Fardre, Glamorgan | Defunct |
| Ginetta | 1958 | Garforth, Leeds | Active |
| Gordon-Keeble | 1964 | Eastleigh, Hampshire | Defunct |
| Healey | 1945 | Warwick, Warwickshire | Defunct |
| Hillman | 1907 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Humber | 1898 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Ineos Automotive | 2016 | London | Active |
| Invicta | 1925 | Cobham, Surrey | Revived |
| Jensen | 1922 | West Bromwich, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Jowett | 1904 | Bradford, West Yorkshire | Defunct |
| Lagonda | 1906 | Staines, Middlesex | Dormant, owned by Aston Martin |
| Lanchester | 1895 | Birmingham, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Lea-Francis | 1903 | Coventry, West Midlands | Dormant |
| LEVC | 2013 | Coventry, West Midlands | Active, owned by Geely |
| Lister | 1954 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | Active |
| Marcos | 1959 | Luton, Bedfordshire | Defunct |
| MG | 1924 | Abingdon, Oxfordshire | Revived, owned by SAIC Motor |
| Morris | 1912 | Cowley, Oxford | Defunct |
| Napier | 1900 | Acton, London | Defunct (cars) |
| Noble | 1999 | Leicester, Leicestershire | Active |
| Panther | 1972 | Weybridge, Surrey | Defunct |
| Radical | 1997 | Peterborough, Cambridgeshire | Active |
| Reliant | 1935 | Tamworth, Staffordshire | Defunct |
| Riley | 1890 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Rover | 1904 | Solihull, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Singer | 1905 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct (cars) |
| Standard | 1903 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Sunbeam | 1901 | Wolverhampton, West Midlands | Defunct |
| Talbot | 1903 | London | Defunct |
| Triumph | 1923 | Coventry, West Midlands | Defunct (cars), owned by BMW |
| TVR | 1946 | Blackpool, Lancashire | Dormant/Revived |
| Westfield | 1982 | Kingswinford, West Midlands | Active |
| Wolseley | 1901 | Birmingham, West Midlands | Defunct |
Images and Descriptions
Aston Martin
A legendary producer of luxury grand tourers and sports cars, famously associated with James Bond. The DB5 is an all-time classic.
Bentley
A benchmark for luxury and performance, with a rich motorsport heritage. The Continental GT defines the modern luxury grand tourer.
Jaguar
Famed for its blend of beautiful design, sporting performance, and luxury. The E-Type is often called the most beautiful car ever made.
Land Rover
The definitive name in off-road vehicles, from the original rugged Series I to the luxurious and capable modern Range Rover.
Lotus
A champion of lightweight design and superb handling. Founder Colin Chapman’s “simplify, then add lightness” philosophy lives on in cars like the Elise.
McLaren
A supercar powerhouse born from a hugely successful Formula 1 team, known for technological marvels like the F1 and Senna.
Mini
The rebirth of the iconic 1959 city car. The modern MINI retains the classic’s go-kart handling and cheeky personality in a larger package.
Morgan
A uniquely traditional carmaker, famous for using ash wood frames in its hand-built sports cars like the Plus Four, blending classic style with modern performance.
Rolls-Royce
The ultimate name in automotive luxury, renowned for its silent, effortless performance and bespoke craftsmanship in models like the Phantom.
Vauxhall
A staple of British roads for over a century, Vauxhall is a mainstream brand that has produced hugely popular cars like the Corsa and Astra.
AC Cars
One of Britain’s oldest car makers, forever famous for creating the AC Ace, the car that was developed into the legendary Shelby Cobra.
Alvis
A historic maker of premium and technically advanced cars. The brand has been revived to produce continuation models of its classic 1930s and 1960s designs.
Ariel
Maker of the minimalist Ariel Atom, a road-legal car with a visible exoskeleton frame that offers astonishing, superbike-like performance.
Armstrong Siddeley
A producer of high-quality luxury cars and aircraft engines, known for refined engineering and models like the powerful Sapphire.
Ascari
A niche manufacturer of supercars named after F1 champion Alberto Ascari. Its KZ1 and A10 were potent, low-volume machines for road and track.
Austin
A cornerstone of the British motor industry, Austin produced millions of cars for the masses, including the revolutionary Mini and the Austin Seven.
Austin-Healey
A legendary partnership that created some of the most beloved British sports cars, from the little “Frogeye” Sprite to the brawny “Big Healey” 3000.
BAC
Briggs Automotive Company builds the Mono, a radical single-seater, road-legal supercar designed to offer the purest driving experience possible.
Berkeley
A short-lived but memorable brand that made tiny, lightweight fibreglass sports cars powered by motorcycle engines, offering fun and frugal performance.
Bond
Not related to 007, this company was a major producer of microcars, most famously the quirky, three-wheeled Bond Bug.
Bristol
A low-volume maker of hand-built luxury cars with an aeronautical heritage. Bristols were known for their understated quality and V8 power.
BSA
Primarily a motorcycle maker, Birmingham Small Arms Company also produced a range of small, economical cars, particularly in the pre-war era.
Caterham
The official custodian of the Lotus Seven design. Caterham builds lightweight, minimalist sports cars that deliver an unfiltered and thrilling driving experience.
Connaught
Originally a Formula 1 team and sports car maker, the name has been revived for limited-run, hybrid-powered grand tourers.
Daimler
Britain’s oldest car marque. It later became a luxury badge for top-tier Jaguar models, distinguished by its fluted grille.
DeLorean
Produced the iconic DMC-12 with its stainless-steel body and gull-wing doors. Its short but famous life ended before its ‘Back to the Future’ stardom.
Elva
A successful builder of sports racing cars in the 1950s and 60s. The name was briefly revived by McLaren for a limited-edition supercar.
Frazer Nash
A builder of unique, lightweight sports cars with a distinctive chain-drive transmission that were highly successful in competition.
Gilbern
The only Welsh car manufacturer, Gilbern produced fibreglass-bodied GT cars sold mainly as kits, such as the V6-powered Genie and Invader.
Ginetta
A specialist builder of road and race cars with a deep history in British motorsport. The G40 and G55 are popular choices for aspiring racing drivers.
Gordon-Keeble
A short-lived but respected brand that produced a stylish, Bertone-designed grand tourer with a fibreglass body and American V8 power.
Healey
Founded by Donald Healey, this brand produced high-quality sports cars before its famous partnership with Austin created the Austin-Healey marque.
Hillman
A mainstream family car brand within the Rootes Group, best known for the dependable Hillman Minx and the innovative rear-engined Imp.
Humber
A respected builder of large, solid, and comfortable cars that were often favoured by government officials, such as the Humber Super Snipe.
Ineos Automotive
Founded to create a spiritual successor to the original Land Rover Defender. Its first model is the rugged and utilitarian Ineos Grenadier 4×4.
Invicta
A historic brand known for powerful, high-performance sports cars in the pre-war era. The name has been revived for modern, V8-powered GT cars.
Jensen
Known for its powerful and stylish grand touring cars, most famously the V8-powered Interceptor and the innovative four-wheel-drive FF.
Jowett
An innovative Yorkshire-based manufacturer known for its distinctive flat-twin and later flat-four engines in cars like the advanced Javelin saloon.
Lagonda
A historic luxury brand with Le Mans-winning heritage. It was later acquired by Aston Martin, which used the name for its futuristic 1970s saloon.
Lanchester
A true pioneer of the British motor industry, Lanchester built some of the first all-British cars, which were known for their advanced engineering.
Lea-Francis
A maker of well-engineered, medium-sized sporting cars. The brand had a reputation for quality and produced notable post-war roadsters.
LEVC
The London EV Company is the modern manufacturer of the iconic London Black Cab, now producing a range-extender electric version called the TX.
Lister
A legendary racing car builder, famous for the powerful “Knobbly” sports racers of the 1950s and later for modifying Jaguars and building supercars.
Marcos
A producer of flamboyant sports cars with fibreglass bodies and, initially, a plywood chassis. The Marcos GT is its most recognisable design.
MG
Once the definitive affordable British sports car brand with the MGB, MG has been revived as a popular maker of budget-friendly SUVs and EVs.
Morris
A giant of the British car industry founded by William Morris. It democratised car ownership in the UK with models like the Morris Minor.
Napier
An early pioneer of luxury cars and powerful racing machines. Napier also built highly successful aircraft and marine engines.
Noble
A low-volume supercar maker focused on pure driving dynamics. The Noble M600 is a critically acclaimed analogue supercar with immense performance.
Panther
A niche manufacturer that specialised in creating retro-styled cars, such as the Jaguar-powered J72 and the dramatic, six-wheeled Panther 6.
Radical
A leading manufacturer of dedicated track cars. Models like the SR3 offer Le Mans-prototype-style performance for club racers and track day enthusiasts.
Reliant
Famous for its three-wheeled Robin, Reliant was also a pioneer in fibreglass car bodies and produced the stylish Scimitar GTE sports estate.
Riley
A brand respected for its sporting character and engineering prowess, particularly its twin-camshaft engines in the pre-war era.
Rover
Once a byword for respectable, middle-class British motoring, known for well-engineered saloons like the P5 and the advanced P6.
Singer
A long-established manufacturer that started with bicycles before making a range of cars, including the popular Singer Nine sports model.
Standard
A major British manufacturer that produced a wide range of reliable family cars and eventually acquired the Triumph marque in 1945.
Sunbeam
A historic brand with a strong competition history, from Grand Prix racing to land speed records with cars like the Sunbeam 1000hp.
Talbot
A complex brand with Anglo-French roots, the British Talbot arm produced high-quality sporting cars and was later merged into the Rootes Group.
Triumph
Remembered for its classic post-war sports cars that defined an era, such as the Spitfire, TR6, and the Stag V8 grand tourer.
TVR
Known for building brutally powerful and wildly styled sports cars with thunderous soundtracks, like the Griffith and Cerbera. A revival is underway.
Westfield
A popular builder of Lotus Seven-inspired kit and factory-built sports cars, offering affordable, high-performance fun for road and track.
Wolseley
Initially a luxury carmaker, Wolseley later became a premium badge within BMC, known for adding upmarket trim and its illuminated grille badge to Morris/Austin cars.
