Who owns Car and Driver?
Car and Driver is owned by Hearst (the United States).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Hearst — about us, Hearst Communications, Inc. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Hearst Communications, Inc. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, New York, New York
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1955
- Category
- Media & entertainment › Publishing › Newspapers & magazines
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Car and Driver
Car and Driver publishes instrumented test results rather than impressions alone, and its comparison tests are a reference point in the American motoring press. Hearst acquired it with the Rodale and Hachette American titles. Hearst acquired it in 2011 as part of a purchase of more than a hundred international magazine titles from the French group Lagardère.
Ownership timeline of Car and Driver
Where Car and Driver sits in Hearst
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Hearst ownership tree →
See the full Hearst brand portfolio (5) →
Other brands owned by Hearst
Hearst controls 5 brands on Brandtree, 5 of them in media & entertainment.
Also in media & entertainment
- Cosmopolitan (1886)
- ELLE (US) (1945)
- Esquire (1933)
- Good Housekeeping (1885)
Other brands in newspapers & magazines, and who owns them
The 70 brands in newspapers & magazines on Brandtree belong to 16 owners. The largest is Reach, with 9; Hearst has 5.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| BelfastLive | Reach | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Beobachter | Ringier | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| Aftenposten | Schibsted Media | 🇳🇴 Norway |
| Condé Nast | Advance | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Country Life | Future | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Brisbane Times | Nine | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| ARQ | Grupo Clarín | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
| Dow Jones | News Corp | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Hearst
Hearst is a family-owned company headquartered in New York, New York, United States, founded in 1887. Brandtree records 5 brands under its control.
Hearst was founded by William Randolph Hearst in 1887 and remains controlled by a family trust. Its magazines are the visible part; most of its profit now comes from business information, medical data and a stake in the A+E and ESPN television ventures.
🇺🇸 Car and Driver and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Car and Driver is not one of them.
- 20th Century Studios — Disney 🇺🇸
- AMC — AMC Networks 🇺🇸
- AMC Theatres — AMC Theatres 🇺🇸
- AMF — Lucky Strike Entertainment 🇺🇸
- Adventure Island — United Parks 🇺🇸
- Antenna TV — Nexstar 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Car and Driver?
The parent company of Car and Driver is Hearst, a family-owned company headquartered in the United States.
Is Car and Driver American?
Yes. Car and Driver originated in the United States in 1955 and its owner, Hearst, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is Car and Driver still owned by Hearst?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Car and Driver is still owned by Hearst. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Hearst — about us — Hearst Communications, Inc., Official document; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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