Best Auto Companies in South Carolina, United States
The 73 best Auto companies in South Carolina, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Sage Automotive Interiors.
Our analysis of 50 Auto companies
$9.4b in tracked funding; 94% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Auto companies in South Carolina
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sage Automotive Interiors Innovative automotive interior solutions: design, manufacture, and global supply | $10M | 40 mo ago | Acquired | Dirk Pieper President and CEO | 2009 | WebflowPHPLaravel+13 | 1 launch · 1 award |
| 2 | Viatec Offers idling system for utility trucks 13Tech top 43%Funding top 45%Growth bottom 47%Moat bottom 42% All 9 signals ▾Techtop 43% Fundingtop 45% Growthbottom 47% Moatbottom 42% Patentsbottom 37% Globalbottom 31% Marketbottom 19% Newsbottom 18% Innovationbottom 15% Tech: 35 technologies across 4/8 capability areas · Cloud: Cloudflare Funding: Raised $4.6M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 4 yrs (0.5/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 13/100 | $5M | 11 mo ago | Series B | — | 2015 | WordPressMySQLPHP+30 | — |
| 3 | Thermo-Pur Technologies Manufacturer of high-tensile strength metal components using innovative forming processes. | $100K | 177 mo ago | Seed | Jeff Hesla CEO & President | 2010 | — | — |
| 4 | Get 2 It Parts ATV, dirt bike, go-kart, and scooter parts with fast shipping | $35K | 204 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 2009 | Cart FunctionalityShopifyBootstrap+19 | — |
| 5 | Michelin North America Global leader providing tires and mobility solutions for diverse vehicle types | — | 115 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 1950 | ApostropheCMSNode.jsYouTube+23 | — |
| 6 | aaa tarps AAA Tarps is a manufacturing company that produces dump trucks, PVC mesh, sod, waste, flatbed, and vinyl hand… | — | — | Acquired | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | abw golf carts ABW Golf Carts engaged in custom golf cars, customer service, offers superior service in the Florence and… | — | — | Private | — | 1996 | DudaYouTubeNginx+14 | — |
| 8 | Alfmeier Friedrichs & Rath LLC Provider of thermal management and pneumatic comfort technologies for automotive and medical industries | — | — | Funding Raised | — | 1994 | — | — |
Top 5 Auto companies in South Carolina
#1
Series B · Greenville, South Carolina · founded 2015 · 22 employees$4.6Mraised▾
Offers idling system for utility trucks
- Jul 2025Series B$4.3M
- Feb 2024Grant (prize money)$300K
- Feb 2022Series B—
#2
Acquired · Greenville, South Carolina · founded 2009 · 1018 employees$9.7Mraised▾
Innovative automotive interior solutions: design, manufacture, and global supply. The company specializes in high-performance automotive interior surfaces, including seating, door panels, instrument panels, and headliners. They focus on design, engineering, and technical capability, supported by manufacturing facilities worldwide. Core strengths include consumer trend foresight, sustainability, service, a diverse product portfolio, and innovative problem-solving for automotive manufacturers. They aim to be a preferred automotive materials supplier, offering proprietary-branded product solutions like Dinamica microfibre and NEXXEssentials mobility interiors. The company is committed to preserving natural resources and ensuring success for associates and communities.
- Feb 2023Grant (prize money)$578.9K
- 2015Series A—
- Sep 2009Series A$9.7M
#3
Seed · Greenville, South Carolina · founded 2010$100Kraised▾
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- Sep 2011Seed$100K
#4
Funding Raised · Spartanburg, South Carolina · founded 2009 · 8 employees$35Kraised▾
ATV, dirt bike, go-kart, and scooter parts with fast shipping. A premier parts distributor offering a wide selection of components for ATVs, mopeds, and scooters. They provide quality parts and service, focusing on fair pricing and efficient order fulfillment with same-day shipping from their South Carolina warehousing. Customers can create accounts, log in, and access a comprehensive catalog of parts. They also offer customer service resources, including shipping and returns information, general info, discount coupons, tech documents, policies, and forms. They provide technical support and reference materials to assist customers with their repair and maintenance needs. The website facilitates online ordering 24/7.
- Jun 2009Conventional Debt$35K
#5
Funding Raised · Greenville, South Carolina · founded 1950 · 112800 employees—raised▾
Global leader providing tires and mobility solutions for diverse vehicle types. The company offers a comprehensive range of tires for automotive, motorcycle, bicycle, classic cars, and motorsport applications. The business model includes both B2B and B2C offerings, catering to personal and commercial needs. Beyond tires, they provide mobility experiences, high-tech materials, and services across various industries, including freight transportation, agriculture, construction, and people transportation. The company offers vehicle accessories, footwear, and expert advice through tips and guides. They innovate to meet customer expectations, focusing on safety, performance, and sustainability. The business model includes a subscription-based newsletter, online tire selection tools, dealer locators, and customer support resources.
Funding & investor landscape
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Auto coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Autonomous Vehicles is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Autonomous Vehicles — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 3,252 United States-affiliated papers.
- Carnegie Mellon University89
- Purdue University West Lafayette76
- University of California, Berkeley69
- Northeastern University64
- Stanford University55
- Computer vision12→111
- Human–computer interaction2→64
- Perception2→59
- Robustness (evolution)3→53
- Trajectory12→61
- Human–computer interaction3→65
- Transport engineering11→66
- Computer vision2→54
- Reinforcement learning3→46
- Automotive engineering5→48
- Humanities4→108
- Philosophy1→64
- Context (archaeology)1→54
- Computer security2→48
- Transport engineering4→30
Where autonomous vehicles is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing autonomous vehicles patents in the United States
United States autonomous vehicles patent filing is accelerating — 19,294 filings from 4,355 assignees (2016–2025), led by Waymo, Baidu USA, GM Cruise Holdings; annual filings 885→1348.
- Waymo1688
- Baidu USA1034
- GM Cruise Holdings767
- FORD Global TECH589
- Qualcomm565
- Tusimple547
- UBER Technologies527
- UATC507
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.