Discover the legacy: Revealing the 10 oldest famous car brands of all time, still standing until now, how many of these names can you guess?

There’s an old saying, there’s nothing permanent in this world except change. In so many ways, cars have quite become a necessity in modern times for everyday human transportation, rather than being just a convenience for the privileged few, like it was back in the early days of the automobile. It’s been more than 100 years since the first internal combustion engine-powered car was born, and they look totally different from the cars we see today.Cars back then were inspired by horse-driven carriages, but as the years went on, not only did the designs evolve, but they’ve become faster, safer, and some of them are now propelled by electric motors. Together with cars, automotive companies also have to keep up with the times to stay relevant in the industry. A lot of automotive brands have come and gone over the years, but these manufacturers on our list have done their best to remain alive and survive the test of time.

10Peugeot – 1810

The oldest surviving car manufacturer in the world is no other than Peugeot. From the company that gave us the likes of the 205 T16 and the current 508 PSE sports sedan, it’s interesting to see that the Peugeot company started out as a family-run coffee mill in 1810.

Eventually, Peugeot turned to human transportation by manufacturing bicycles in 1830, and it wasn’t until 1882 where they began producing cars. Nowadays, Peugeot is now under the PSA Group, along with other manufacturers like Citroën and Vauxhall.

9Tatra – 1850

While they’re no longer making passenger cars, the Czech vehicle manufacturer Tatra still remains in the industry today as a maker of all-wheel-drive trucks capable of winning the grueling Dakar rally.

Founded in 1850, Tatra started out by making horse-drawn carriages until they were able to manufacture their own car in 1897. Furthermore, the Czech manufacturer was instrumental in Germany’s war effort back in World War II by making trucks and tank engines.

8Opel – 1862

Opel, like our two oldest manufacturers, didn’t start out either with automobiles when the company was founded in 1862. In fact, Opel first made sewing machines, and it wasn’t until 1899 they made their very first car.

Today, Opel is under PSA Group ownership after also having been previously owned by General Motors. Throughout the years, Opel participated in motorsports, notably in the Group B era with the Manta and in BTCC with the Vectra.

7Mercedes-Benz – 1883

Karl Benz was the first to file a patent for a gasoline-powered automobile with the Benz-Patent Motorwagen in 1886, just three years after he founded the Benz company, making industrial machines and gas engines.

Gottlieb Daimler’s company made the first Mercedes motor vehicle in 1901, and it wasn’t until 1926 the Mercedes-Benz branded vehicles first appeared, after a merger between Daimler and Karl Benz’s companies.

6Škoda – 1896

Škoda, then known as Laurin & Klement, was founded in 1896 as a manufacturer of velocipedes, or human-powered land vehicles with one or more wheels.

They started making automobiles in 1905 and began producing trucks after World War I. Later on, in 1925, Laurin & Klement was acquired by Škoda Works and was rebranded to Škoda Auto. Today, the company is under VW ownership after becoming a subsidiary in 2000, and is the biggest and most popular car brand in the Czech Republic.

5Land Rover – 1896

Land Rover has gone through different ownership and different names over the years, but it was first known as the Lancashire Steam Motor Company back in 1896 and made steam-driven lawnmowers and vans.

After brief stints under BMW and Ford ownership from the 90s to the early 2000s, Land Rover became a subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors together with Jaguar in 2008.

4Renault – 1899

Brothers Louis, Marcel and Fernand Renault founded the Renault corporation back in 1899, with Louis handling automobile design and production, while Marcel and Fernand focused on the business side. The very first Renault Voiturette 1CV used De-Dion Bouton engines, but it didn’t take long before the French company started to produce their own engine in 1903.

Renault was not just a successful automaker, but they also have a rich heritage in motorsports, finding success in Formula One and WRC, which are two of the biggest motorsports championships sanctioned by the FIA.

3Fiat – 1899

Known to make cute little superminis and city cars, the Fiat company started out in 1899 and went on to become the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. FIAT stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, which translates to Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin.

The Italian manufacturer merged with Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 to form the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a multinational corporation that owns car brands like Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Jeep, Maserati, and formerly, Ferrari.

2Cadillac – 1901

Cadillac and Ford have a close relationship that has its roots back in the founding of the Henry Ford Company in 1901. The Cadillac Automobile Company was established in 1902 using the Henry Ford Company factory, and produced the Runabout and Tonneau in the Cass Street and Amsterdam Avenue plant.

By 1909, the Cadillac company was acquired by General Motors and has remained under GM ownership since, but Cadillac already established itself by that time as a premium American luxury carmaker.

1Ford – 1903

The Ford Motor Company was launched in 1903 and brought automobiles closer to the masses by coming up with more efficient production methods like the moving assembly line that car manufacturers utilize today. Karl Benz might have been the first to make a gasoline-powered automobile, but it was Henry Ford who came up with the Model T, the first mass-produced vehicle, in 1908.

Today, Ford Motor Company sits as the fifth-largest automaker in the world, and is the second-largest in the United States, just behind General Motors.