Maxus is British by birth and Chinese by ownership.
SAIC bought LDV's light commercial vehicle technology and trademarks, the MAXUS line, through Eco Concept Limited, a company owned by Dr Qu Li that bought LDV's assets from its administrators in October 2009 as SAIC's vehicle.
Where it sits
Two levels. A figure marks a company boundary crossed; a word means the figure was never published.
Maxus
130 years, six owners since 1980
The year is coloured by whoever held it at the time.
- 1896 SAIC dates the MAXUS line to 1896 on its own brand-history page, titled 百年传奇 — "a century-old legend" — which opens 「1896年传奇起源」 and traces the business through Leyland, Freight Rover, Leyland DAF and LDV to the Maxus van of 2004. The Chinese company that builds them today, 上汽大通汽车有限公司, was incorporated on 21 March 2011.
- 1987 The van business that became LDV and then MAXUS, at the time Freight Rover, left Rover Group on 6 April 1987, when it was combined with Leyland Trucks and DAF Trucks in a new Anglo-Dutch company, Leyland DAF (DAF NV outside Britain). A Commons written answer of 10 April 1987 records that "The agreement between Rover Group and DAF to transfer these businesses to the new merged company, Leyland DAF Ltd, was completed on 6 April." Neither Rover Group nor DAF NV is an entity in this dataset.
- 1993 After DAF NV collapsed, its British van business was bought out of receivership in April 1993 by its management, backed by 3i, as Leyland DAF Vans, and renamed LDV in January 1994. The European Commission's 2009 rescue-aid decision on LDV records that "Leyland Daf Vehicles was bought from the receiver of Daf Trucks in April 1993 being renamed LDV in January 1994." Neither DAF NV nor the buy-out company is an entity in this dataset.
- 2005 LDV went into administration in December 2005 and its business and assets were bought by the private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, through Sun European Partners and a company called LV Holdings Limited, for a reported £20 million. The European Commission records that "In December 2005, the company went into Administration and the business and assets were bought by Sun Capital Partners". Neither LDV's previous owners nor Sun Capital is an entity in this dataset.
- 2006 Sun Capital sold LDV to the Russian GAZ Group in July 2006, about seven months after buying it. The European Commission records that "In July 2006, LDV Holdings Limited was acquired by Gaz International Group Ltd", and GAZ went on to put £108 million into the business before it failed in 2009. Neither Sun Capital nor GAZ is an entity in this dataset.
- 2009 SAIC bought LDV's light commercial vehicle technology and trademarks, the MAXUS line, through Eco Concept Limited, a company owned by Dr Qu Li that bought LDV's assets from its administrators in October 2009 as SAIC's vehicle. The Economic Observer calls Eco Concept 「为了上汽收购LDV而设置的载体」, "a vehicle set up for SAIC's purchase of LDV", and, citing the transfer contract, says it passed the technology to SAIC's wholly owned subsidiary Shanghai Huizhong in November 2009; SAIC's own statement says Huizhong 「从英国ECO CONCEPT LIMITED独占性地收购了LDV公司轻型汽车技术及商标的全部知识产权和权益」. An SAIC negotiating team had been in Britain in July and August 2009, and SAIC's president, Chen Hong, confirmed on 23 November 2009 that SAIC had taken part in buying LDV. SAIC incorporated 上汽大通汽车有限公司 to build the vans in March 2011.
SAIC Motor
6 marques
No car is sold as an SAIC: the names it owns outright include MG, which stayed British in everything but ownership, while the joint ventures on its own subsidiary list build Volkswagens and Buicks for China. Shanghai's city government controls it through an unlisted parent company rather than holding the shares itself.