26 Car Brands That Start With M (Origins, Owners & History)

Car brands that start with M include the company that built the first motor car, the only manufacturer that stuck with the rotary engine, and a British marque that still uses a wooden frame. Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Mini, Mitsubishi, McLaren, Maserati, MG and Mahindra cover the major names.

This guide covers 26 car brands beginning with M, with country of origin, founding year, current ownership and what each is known for.

Car Brands Starting With M: Complete List

Major Manufacturers

Mercedes-Benz

Karl Benz patented the Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886, and it is generally recognised as the first true automobile — built as a car from the ground up rather than a carriage with an engine bolted on. Benz and Daimler merged in 1926 to form Mercedes-Benz. The Mercedes name came from Mercédès Jellinek, the daughter of a dealer who commissioned a batch of cars on condition they carried her name. The company introduced the crumple zone in 1959, and notably declined to enforce the patent, which allowed the entire industry to adopt it.

Mazda

The only manufacturer to persist seriously with the Wankel rotary engine, which is compact and smooth but thirsty and hard to make emissions-compliant. Mazda’s rotary-powered 787B won Le Mans outright in 1991 — still the only Japanese victory until 2018, and the only rotary win ever. The MX-5 is the best-selling two-seat sports car in history, built on the principle of light weight over power.

McLaren

Founded by New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. The company built the McLaren F1 in 1992 — a three-seat road car with the driver in the centre, a gold-lined engine bay for heat reflection, and a top speed that stood as the fastest production car record for years. McLaren pioneered the carbon-fibre monocoque in Formula One in 1981, and every McLaren road car since has used a carbon tub.

Mini

The original 1959 Mini solved a packaging problem: mounting the engine transversely with the gearbox in the sump freed up so much cabin space that roughly 80% of the car’s footprint was usable interior. Almost every small car since has copied that layout. Designer Alec Issigonis was reportedly hostile to comfort features on principle. The brand now belongs to BMW, which bought it in the Rover breakup.

Mitsubishi

Part of one of Japan’s oldest industrial conglomerates, building vehicles since 1917. The Lancer Evolution and the Pajero built its reputation — the Pajero won the Dakar Rally twelve times, more than any other vehicle. Mitsubishi Motors is now part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, which for a period was the largest vehicle-making group in the world.

Maserati

Founded in Bologna in 1914 by the Maserati brothers, who had previously worked on Diatto racing cars — when Diatto quit racing, they continued the project themselves. The trident badge comes from the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna. Maserati won the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940, the only Italian marque to do so. It now sits within Stellantis.

MG

Founded in 1924 out of Morris Garages in Oxford, and for decades the definition of the affordable British sports car — the MGB alone sold over half a million. After the collapse of MG Rover, the brand was acquired by China’s SAIC Motor in 2007. MG is now one of the fastest-growing brands in Europe, selling electric cars that have nothing mechanically in common with the sports cars that made the name.

Mahindra

An Indian conglomerate that began building Willys Jeeps under licence in 1947, which shaped its identity as a utility-vehicle maker. It is now one of India’s largest manufacturers and has bought a majority stake in Pininfarina, the Italian design house responsible for decades of Ferrari bodywork — an unusual reversal of the traditional direction of automotive acquisitions.

Maruti Suzuki

India’s largest carmaker by a wide margin, holding roughly 40% of the domestic market. It began in 1981 as a government initiative to produce an affordable people’s car, partnered with Suzuki, and the Maruti 800 transformed personal mobility in India in much the way the Beetle or Mini did in Europe. Suzuki now holds the majority stake.

Morgan

Still building cars in Malvern by hand, and still using an ash wood frame beneath the aluminium bodywork — not for nostalgia alone, but because it is light and can be shaped without expensive tooling. The wood is a structural body frame, not a chassis. Waiting lists have historically run to years. Italian investment group Investindustrial acquired a majority stake in 2019.

Maybach

Wilhelm Maybach was Gottlieb Daimler’s chief engineer, and the company he founded in 1909 built extremely expensive luxury cars until the Second World War. Mercedes revived the name in 2002 as a standalone ultra-luxury brand, which failed commercially, then relaunched it in 2015 as a Mercedes sub-brand instead — which has worked considerably better.

Specialists, Racers and Coachbuilders

Magna

Not a brand in the usual sense but one of the most significant companies in the industry — a contract manufacturer that builds complete vehicles for other marques at its Graz plant in Austria. It has assembled cars for BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and Toyota, so a substantial number of vehicles wearing famous badges were physically built by Magna.

Matra

A French aerospace and defence group that also built cars and won Le Mans three years running from 1972 to 1974, plus a Formula One world championship. Its more lasting contribution is the Renault Espace, which Matra designed and built — effectively inventing the modern MPV. Renault initially doubted it would sell.

Marmon

Built the Marmon Wasp, which won the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, and is credited with fitting the first rear-view mirror to a car — the Wasp ran without a riding mechanic, so the driver needed some way to see behind. Marmon later built a V16 luxury car before the Depression ended the business in 1933.

March

A prolific British racing constructor that supplied cars to an unusually wide range of teams and categories — Formula One, Formula Two, Formula 3000 and IndyCar — rather than racing exclusively as a works team. March-built chassis won the Indianapolis 500 several times in the 1980s.

Marcos

Founded in 1959, and its early cars used a chassis made largely of marine plywood — genuinely, a laminated wooden monocoque, chosen because it was light, stiff and cheap to produce in small numbers. The name combines its founders, Jem Marsh and Frank Costin, the latter an aerodynamicist from de Havilland.

Mosler

Built the MT900, an extremely light American supercar designed around track performance, with a claimed weight well below its rivals. Founder Warren Mosler famously offered a standing cash prize to anyone who could beat one of his earlier cars in a specified test — a marketing approach as unusual as the cars.

Melkus

An East German manufacturer that built the RS1000 from 1969 — a fibreglass sports car with gullwing doors and a tuned Wartburg two-stroke engine. Producing anything resembling a sports car in the GDR was remarkable, and only a few hundred were made.

Marussia

Russia’s attempt at a modern supercar, founded in 2007 by a former racing driver and television presenter, and briefly connected to a Formula One team. It never reached meaningful production and the company collapsed in 2014.

Mastretta

Built the MXT, the first sports car both designed and manufactured in Mexico — a genuine national first for a country with a large automotive industry that had until then only assembled foreign designs.

Mallett

An American engineering firm specialising in heavily modified Corvettes and other GM performance cars, occupying similar territory to Callaway with supercharged conversions and chassis work.

Defunct Marques

Mercury

Ford created Mercury in 1938 to fill the gap between Ford and Lincoln — a mid-market brand for buyers who wanted more than a Ford but could not stretch to a Lincoln. That gap narrowed as Ford models improved, leaving Mercury without a clear purpose, and Ford discontinued it in 2011.

Morris

Morris Motors was one of Britain’s largest manufacturers, and the Morris Minor was the first British car to sell a million. William Morris built the company on American-style mass production applied to British conditions. Morris merged into the British Motor Corporation and the name eventually disappeared in the long consolidation that ended British volume car manufacturing.

Other Marques in This Group

Marcos Ltd.

In Kenilworth, England, Jam Marsh and Frank Costin established Marcos Engineering Ltd., a British sports vehicle manufacturer. Its name is derived from the initials of the founders’ last names. In England’s Bedfordshire region, the business is situated in Luton. A facility in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, became its new home in 1963. The Marcos 1800 GT was unveiled one year later. An additional factory was built close to Westbury as a result of the success. A new name, Marcos Ltd., was adopted in 1971. 1981 saw the introduction of the Marcos V6 coupe. The company was forced to close in 2007 due to financial issues.

Marussia Motors

In 2007, investor Efim Ostrovsky, showman Nikolay Fomenko, and driver Anton Kolesnikov established the Russian automaker Marussia Motors. The business was headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Before going out of business in 2014, the company created 44 sports vehicle prototypes and perfected the mass production of four different automobile models. The Marussia B1 and B2 models, the Marussia F2 crossover concept, and the Marussia E-Car hydraulic car all contributed to the company’s success. Four vehicles were created for the “Kortezh” project, including an SUV, two variations of a premium sedan, and a minivan.

Mastretta Cars

Designer Daniel Mastretta established the modern Mexican automaker and design company Mastretta Cars in 1987. The company’s headquarters are in Mexico City. Under the brand names Tecnoidea and Unediseo-Mastretta MXA, the business developed a number of entire car ranges in the 1990s that were based on minibus chassis as well as the Volkswagen Sedan (VW Type 1), which was introduced in 1995. However, the MXT, which was introduced in 2010, was the first mass-produced car of this type.

Matech Concepts

Martin Bartek established the Swiss company Matech Concepts, which is situated in Geneva and specializes in the design and manufacture of racing vehicles. The business created the Ford GT after reaching an agreement with Ford Racing. The business was also involved in distributing parts for the Ford Mustang FR500 at the same time. The Matech GT Racing squad, which won the FIA GT3 championship in 2008, served as another representative of the company. The business stopped operating in 2011.

Frequently Asked Questions

What car brands start with the letter M?

Twenty-six are covered here, including Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Mini, Mitsubishi, McLaren, Maserati, MG, Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Morgan, Maybach, Mercury, Morris, Matra, Marmon, March, Marcos, Magna, Mosler, Melkus, Marussia, Mastretta, Mallett, Micro and Matech.

Who owns MG now?

China’s SAIC Motor, which acquired the brand in 2007 following the collapse of MG Rover. MG now sells mainly electric and hybrid vehicles and has grown rapidly in Europe.

Which M brand built the first car?

Mercedes-Benz, through Karl Benz. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen of 1886 is generally recognised as the first true automobile — designed as a car rather than a carriage with an engine added.

Why does Morgan still use wood?

Because the ash frame is light, can be shaped without costly tooling, and suits low-volume hand construction. It is a structural body frame rather than the chassis, and Morgan has continued with it for over a century.

Has a rotary engine ever won Le Mans?

Once. Mazda’s 787B won outright in 1991 — the only rotary-engined victory in the event’s history, and Japan’s only overall win until Toyota in 2018.

Who owns Mini?

BMW, which retained the Mini brand when the Rover Group was broken up and relaunched it in 2001. The original Mini was a British Motor Corporation design from 1959.

Sources

SAIC ownership of MG: SAIC and MG Motor corporate information. Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance membership and Stellantis brand portfolio: company disclosures. Founding dates and marque histories follow manufacturer corporate records.

Ownership in the motor industry changes frequently — check current corporate filings before relying on any ownership detail for business purposes.

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