Who owns Rolls-Royce Motor Cars?
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is owned by BMW Group (Germany, XETRA: BMW), which has owned the brand since 2003.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: BMW Group Annual Report 2025, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, 18 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇩🇪 Germany, Munich
- Origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Goodwood
- Founded
- 1904
- Category
- Automotive › Cars › Luxury cars
- Parent ticker
- XETRA: BMW
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
BMW owns Rolls-Royce cars, and the entirely separate Rolls-Royce Holdings makes aircraft engines. The two split in 1973, and when the car business was sold in 1998 BMW secured the name while Volkswagen bought the factory, forcing a four-year handover.
Ownership timeline of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Where Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sits in BMW Group
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full BMW Group ownership tree →
See the full BMW Group brand portfolio (5) →
Other brands owned by BMW Group
BMW Group controls 5 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in automotive.
Also in automotive
- BMW (1916)
- BMW Motorrad (1923)
- MINI (1959)
Other brands in luxury cars, and who owns them
The 19 brands in luxury cars on Brandtree belong to 14 owners. The largest is Volkswagen Group, with 2; BMW Group has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Denza | BYD | 🇨🇳 China |
| Mercedes-Benz | Mercedes-Benz Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Jaguar | Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles | 🇮🇳 India |
| Audi | Volkswagen Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Lincoln | Ford | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Hyptec | GAC Group | 🇨🇳 China |
| Volvo Cars | Geely | 🇨🇳 China |
| Cadillac | General Motors | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: BMW Group
BMW Group is a publicly listed company headquartered in Munich, Germany, founded in 1916. Brandtree records 5 brands under its control, and it is listed as XETRA: BMW.
BMW began building aircraft engines in 1916, which its blue and white roundel is popularly said to represent. It is controlled by the Quandt family, and it owns two British marques whose names are far better known in Britain than the German parent is.
🇬🇧 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and other British brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 552 brands that began in the United Kingdom. 291 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars among them.
- Aston Martin — Aston Martin Lagonda 🇬🇧
- BSA — Mahindra & Mahindra 🇮🇳
- Bentley — Volkswagen Group 🇩🇪
- Jaguar — Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles 🇮🇳
- Lotus — Geely 🇨🇳
- Norton Motorcycles — TVS Motor 🇮🇳
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars?
The parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is BMW Group, a publicly listed company headquartered in Germany.
Is Rolls-Royce Motor Cars owned by Volkswagen Group?
No. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is owned by BMW Group, not Volkswagen Group.
Is Rolls-Royce Motor Cars British or German?
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars originated in the United Kingdom in 1904, but it is owned today by BMW Group, which is headquartered in Germany. So Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a British-origin brand under German ownership.
Since when has BMW Group owned Rolls-Royce Motor Cars?
BMW Group has owned Rolls-Royce Motor Cars since 2003.
Is Rolls-Royce Motor Cars still owned by BMW Group?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is still owned by BMW Group. 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] BMW Group Annual Report 2025 — Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Annual report, published 18 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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