You probably know a lot of car brand names, but have you ever thought about the story behind their names?
From iconic luxury car brands like Aston Martin to affordable motors made by Volkswagen, each manufacturer has their own reasoning as to why they picked their name.
In this blog, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts explores some of the stories behind famous car manufacturers.
We explore manufacturers such as:
The Italian brand Alfa Romeo was founded in 1910 as ALFA, an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabrica Automobil. In 1915, the company was taken over by Nicola Romeo, who added his surname to the brand name.
Aston Martin's name was inspired by Aston Hill races close to the Aston Clinton village, where founder Lionel Martin started his company. He took the first name of the race, Aston, and combined them with his surname, Martin.
The name Audi is based on the Latin translation of the founder's surname, August Horch. In German, Horch means 'listen'.
The German luxury brand BMW was originally named Rapp Motorenwerke after its founder, Karl Rapp. In 1917, the company was renamed the Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates to Bavarian Motor Works.
The blue and white in the logo are a nod to its Bavarian roots, with the colours prominently featured on the Bavarian coat of arms.
In Korean, the word 'Hyundai' translates roughly to the word 'modernity'.
Mercedes-Benz was named after the daughter of one of the company's founders, Emil Jellinek. His daughter was called Mercedes, and he used her name as the trademark for the company's cars.
The Benz part of the name comes from Karl Benz, who founded the company in 1883.
When Nissan first emerged in 1928, the holding company was called Nihon Sangyo (or Nippon Sanyo), which translates to 'Japan Industries'. However, for stock market purposes and to make it more adaptable for Western cultures, the name took the abbreviation Ni-San or Nissan.
Founded in 2003, Tesla was named after inventor Nikola Tesla, the man who pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of alternating current AC electricity.
Toyota was founded in 1924 and took its name from the surname of founder Sakichi Toyoda. The company was originally called Toyoda, but in 1936, the company ran a competition to design a new logo.
Rizaburo Toyoda, who married into the family, preferred Toyota because it took eight brush strokes to write in Japanese, which is a lucky number.
Volkswagen means the 'People's Car' in German. Established in 1937, Volkswagen was launched to provide cars to working-class people in Germany.
Volvo was registered as a trademark in 1911 after the company took the Latin verb 'volvere', which means to roll, and turned it into Volvo, which means 'I roll'.
Looking for more motoring content? Nationwide Vehicle Contracts produces regular blogs on various topics, such as The Best Hybrid Cars for 2024 and 5 Tips For Avoiding Trouble at Roundabouts.
We are also one of the UK's largest car leasing brokers, offering a range of leasing deals to suit your every need. For more information, check out our leasing deals or call us on 0345 811 9595.
