8 Car manufacturing companies who did not start their journey as automobile manufacturers

Ever wondered how car makers manage to bring out new technologies and designs every year? Even though the automobile industry is turning into a very competitive market, still the consumer options are not trimming down.

Despite the increased traffic and desperate efforts to cut down the driver input, the time required for manufacturing a car has been significantly reduced and the number of new players entering the automobile industry has increased.

Recently there was a report about a vacuum company entering this industry soon.

So, let us look at which of the major players entered the automobile industry as non-car manufacturers?

1) Hyundai Motor Company: Started out as a construction firm by the son of a farmer 

The biggest vehicle manufacturing giant in South Korea and third largest in the world, the Hyundai Motor Company started out as a small construction firm called the Hyundai Engineering and Construction company back in 1947. Twenty years later in 1967,  the Hyundai Motor company was founded and it released its first car known as the "Cortina" in 1968 along with the Ford Motor company. A few years later in 1974, Hyundai released its first Pony car that was independently designed and manufactured.

2) Jaguar: Started as a side-car manufacturing company for motorcycles 

Two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley (a World War I veteran) started their journey with manufacturing of sidecars for motorcycles. The company was called the Swallow Sidecar Company founded in 1922 in Blackpool, England. The business expanded rapidly and both the partners decided to relocate to Coventry where the business grew further.

Later, Swallow started manufacturing and supplying of coachwork for the chassis of Austin, Fiat, and Alvis. However, Lyons was not satisfied with just providing bodies to other companies, started manufacturing Swallow's first car known as the SS1. The SS1 was revealed in the London Motor Show held in 1931.

Just 4 years later, the Swallow Sidecar company changed its name to Jaguar.

3) Lamborghini: A tractor making company owned by a business enthusiast or a rejected tractor driver

There are two versions of the story of how Lamborghini came into existence.

According to one version of the story, Ferruccio Lamborghini approached Enzo Ferrari to talk about a weak clutch in a Ferrari he had purchased. In return, Enzo Ferrari insulted Ferruccio and as a result, Ferruccio, out of frustration decided to start his own company of sports cars.

However, another version of the story says that the Tractor manufacturer saw the opportunity of making huge profits with the business of exotic car manufacturing.  Ferruccio founded his tractor making company Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and years later Automobili Lamborgini S.p.A was formed in 1963. The first model from Lamborgini was the 350 GT, which was appreciated for its superb power and refinement. However, it was after the launch of Lamborghini Miura,  the company marked its significance in the exotic cars arena.

4) Mahindra and Mahindra: Started as a Steel trading company

Two brothers, J C Mahindra and KC Mahindra along with Ghulam Mohammed started the Mahindra and Mohammed company in 1946 as a steel trading company. After the partition of India and Pakistan, Ghulam Mohammed shifted to Pakistan and became the country’s first finance minister. The name Mahindra and Mohammed Company was changed to Mahindra and Mahindra and it entered into the vehicle manufacturing industry. The company started its venture with assembling Willys Jeep and later got into manufacturing of lightweight vehicles and tractors.

5) Mitsubishi: The company that was initially into shipbuilding

Yes, you heard us right. The origin of Mitsubishi was back in 1870 and it started as a shipping firm with three steamships. Later, the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding company built its first car, the Model-A in 1917 and became the first Japanese automobile manufacturer. The company from Shikoku underwent through various name changes with a diversified portfolio in power generation, banking sector, and chemical trading.  

6) Peugeot: A family run business of grain mill and steel foundry

The history of the French car manufacturer is two centuries and eight generations old. Peugeot was initially a family business of manufacturing of salt, pepper, umbrella, and saws. In 1989, the founders Armand Peugeot and Leon Serpollet built a steam tricycle, which was the first car from the company.

7) Suzuki: A loom manufacturing and exporting company

Michio Suzuki, the founder of Suzuki motor corporation was the son of a cotton farmer from Japan. He founded Suzuki loom works in 1909 after inventing a specialized type of the weaving machine which was later exported overseas. In 1937, Michio decided to start working on a small and economical car for the people in Japan. However, there was some delay in the R&D process due to the ongoing World War II. In 1955, Suzuki came up with the Suzulight, its ticket to enter the automobile industry.

8) Toyota: A loom-making company later expanded to an automobile manufacturing company

The world’s most valuable company, Toyota started its journey as a loom manufacturer just like Suzuki. Founded by Sakichi Toyoda, the Toyoda Automatic Loom works got into manufacturing of looms back in 1924. Later, Kiichiro Toyoda, son of Sakichi decided to get into the automobile industry in 1933. The company released its first passenger car, the Model AA in 1936.

Well, these stories have been and will always be inspiring us to do something meaningful with our lives.