Cheshire

Active 1919 – present Luxury / Prestige Sports & Specialist

W. O. Bentley founded Bentley Motors in Cricklewood, north London, in 1919, and his big sporting cars won Le Mans five times between 1924 and 1930. Owned by…

Discontinued 1933 – 2007 Mainstream & Utility

ERF was founded in Sandbach in 1933 by Edwin Richard Foden after he left the family firm to build diesel lorries. It bought in its engines, gearboxes and…

Discontinued 1856 – 2006 Mainstream & Utility

Foden of Sandbach in Cheshire grew from a steam engine builder into one of Britain's best-known lorry makers. Its steam wagons, built for over 30 years, ended in…

Active 1906 – present Luxury / Prestige

Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met in Manchester in 1904 and founded Rolls-Royce in 1906, building cars such as the Silver Ghost that set a new standard for…

Active 1857 – present Mainstream & Utility

Vauxhall began as a London engineering firm in 1857, built its first car in 1903 and moved to Luton in 1905. Owned by General Motors from 1925 and…