You’re sitting at a red light, staring at the trunk of the SUV in front of you. There it is. Three distinct triangles—or maybe they're diamonds?—pointing toward a center point. You’ve seen it a thousand times, but for some reason, the name of the brand just won’t stick. Is it Mitsubishi? Or is it that new electric brand your neighbor keeps talking about?
Branding is a funny thing. We think we know car logos until we actually have to describe them. The 3 triangle car logo is one of the most common design motifs in the automotive world, and honestly, it makes sense. Triangles represent stability, direction, and strength. But because so many manufacturers use this geometric shorthand, it’s remarkably easy to get them confused.
Most people are actually thinking of Mitsubishi. That’s the big one. But depending on how the triangles are arranged—whether they’re touching, overlapping, or floating—you might actually be looking at a SAIC Maxus, a Borgward, or even a localized brand like Chery. Let’s get into why these shapes dominate the road and which brands are actually behind them.
The King of Triangles: Mitsubishi’s Three-Diamond Heritage
When you talk about a 3 triangle car logo, you’re almost always talking about Mitsubishi. But here’s the thing: they aren’t technically triangles. They’re diamonds.
The logo is called the Iwasaki Yataro crest. It’s been around since the 1870s. Yataro, the founder of Mitsubishi, combined two different family crests to create the iconic mark. One was the three-layer chestnut (the Iwasaki family crest) and the other was the three-leaf oak (the Tosa Clan crest).
It’s about lineage.
If you look closely at a modern Mitsubishi Outlander or Pajero, the three red diamonds meet at a central point. It creates a sense of balance. In Japanese, "Mitsu" means three, and "Bishi" means water chestnut, which has a diamond shape. So the logo is literally the name of the company. It’s rare to find a brand where the geometry and the linguistics align so perfectly. For over a century, this mark hasn’t really changed. While other brands are constantly "rebranding" with flat 2D logos to look better on iPhone screens, Mitsubishi has mostly stuck to its guns.
The Confusion with SAIC Maxus
Now, if the triangles you saw weren’t solid diamonds but looked more like three interconnected "V" shapes forming a larger triangle, you’ve probably spotted a Maxus. This brand is owned by SAIC Motor, a Chinese giant.
Maxus is huge in the van and commercial vehicle space, but they’ve been making a massive push into SUVs and electric pickups lately. Their logo is often described as three triangles pointing upward. Unlike Mitsubishi, which feels grounded and heavy, the Maxus logo feels like it’s pointing somewhere. It’s directional.
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Why does this matter? Because in the global market, especially in Europe and Australia, Maxus is becoming a household name for delivery fleets. If you see a sleek, futuristic delivery van with three silver triangles on the grille, that’s SAIC. They’ve leaned into the "3 triangle" aesthetic because it looks modern and industrial. It lacks the 150-year history of Mitsubishi, but it captures that same feeling of "built to last."
Is It a Triangle or a Ribbon? The Nio and Borgward Factor
Sometimes, what we see as a triangle is actually a clever bit of negative space.
Take Nio, for example. The Chinese EV brand has a logo that looks like a semi-circle over an upward-pointing chevron. From a distance? Yeah, it looks like a segmented triangle. It’s meant to represent the sky and the road. It’s sleek. It’s very "tech-bro."
Then there’s Borgward. This is a bit of a deep cut. Borgward was a famous German automaker that went bust in the 60s and was recently revived with Chinese backing. Their logo is a large, red-and-white diamond (rhombus) which, if you squint, is just two triangles stacked. But it’s often mistaken for a 3 triangle car logo because of the way the facets are shaded. It’s a bit of a zombie brand, honestly. They’re trying to sell a "German heritage" story with a logo that looks like it belongs on a vintage racing jacket.
Why Triangles? The Psychology of Car Branding
Designers don't just pick shapes because they look cool on a keychain.
Triangles are the strongest shape in engineering. Think about bridges. Think about trusses. When a car brand uses a 3 triangle car logo, they are subconsciously telling you that their vehicles are durable.
- Direction: A triangle is an arrow. It suggests movement.
- Hierarchy: It has a peak. It suggests being at the top of the market.
- Simplicity: In a world of complex, 3D-rendered badges, a simple geometric shape is easy to recognize at 70 mph.
But there’s a downside to this simplicity. When everyone uses triangles, everyone looks the same. This is why you see brands like Mazda or Toyota using more organic, circular shapes. They want to stand out from the "sharp" crowd. Mitsubishi owns the triangle space so effectively that anyone else entering it—like the aforementioned Maxus or even smaller brands like Chery (which uses a "C" shape that encloses a triangle)—is always going to be compared to the Japanese original.
The "Local" Brands You Might Be Seeing
Depending on where you live, that 3 triangle car logo might be something much more niche.
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In some markets, particularly in Asia and parts of Africa, you'll see Chery. Their logo is an "A" inside an oval, but the "A" is essentially a triangle. It’s meant to represent the letter "A" for "First-class" but also looks like a mountain.
Then there’s the brand Proton. While their current logo is a tiger’s head, their older logos featured a heavy emphasis on a crescent and a star within a shield, which many people remember as a series of triangular points.
Honestly, the sheer number of brands using this geometry is exhausting. If it’s red and solid, it’s Mitsubishi. If it’s silver and looks like a "V" within a "V," it’s probably Maxus. If it looks like a weird, stylized "A" on a budget-friendly hatchback, you’re looking at a Chery.
How to Spot the Difference in Seconds
It’s all about the gaps.
Mitsubishi is solid. There is no empty space in the middle of those diamonds. It’s a heavy, anchored mark. Most other brands that use a 3 triangle car logo use "outline" styles. They want the logo to feel airy and light, especially if they are selling electric vehicles.
Also, look at the color. Mitsubishi is famously red. While they use chrome badges on the actual cars, their corporate identity is blood-red. Maxus and Chery almost exclusively use silver or chrome with black backgrounds. It’s a small detail, but it’s the easiest way to tell if you’re looking at a brand with a century of history or a newcomer trying to make its mark.
What Most People Get Wrong About These Logos
The biggest misconception is that these logos are "stolen" or copied. In the automotive world, everything is a remix.
When a new brand like Maxus uses a triangle-heavy logo, they aren’t trying to trick you into buying a Mitsubishi. They’re following a "visual language" that consumers already trust. We trust sharp lines. We trust symmetry. If a car had a logo that was just a squiggly line, we’d probably think the car was unreliable.
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Another thing? People often confuse the 3 triangle car logo with the Mercedes-Benz star. I know, it sounds crazy to a car enthusiast, but to the average person, a three-pointed star is just three triangles meeting in the middle. Mercedes-Benz is actually the "ultimate" version of this design philosophy. Their star represents land, sea, and air. It’s the same "rule of three" that makes Mitsubishi’s logo so satisfying to look at.
The Evolution of the Triangle in the EV Era
As we move toward electric vehicles, logos are changing. They’re getting flatter. They’re getting illuminated.
You might have noticed that newer cars actually have glowing logos. This is where the 3 triangle car logo really shines. Because triangles have sharp points, they look incredible when backlit with LEDs. A circle just looks like a halo, but a glowing triangle looks like something out of Tron.
Brands are doubling down on these shapes because they translate well to digital screens. When you’re looking at a tiny icon on a smartphone app to unlock your car, you need a shape that doesn't turn into a blurry blob. Triangles hold their "edge" better than almost any other shape.
What to Do Next if You’re Identifying a Vehicle
If you're still trying to figure out what that car was, take a quick mental note of the vehicle's "vibe."
Was it a rugged-looking SUV or a work truck? It’s probably a Mitsubishi. Was it a sleek, modern-looking van or a generic-looking crossover? Check for the SAIC Maxus or Chery nameplates.
- Check the orientation: Do the triangles point toward the center (Mitsubishi) or are they stacked (Maxus)?
- Look for text: Most brands using these logos have started putting their name in big block letters across the hood or trunk because they know their logos are confusing.
- Search by region: If you're in the US, it's almost certainly Mitsubishi. If you're in the UK, Australia, or China, the field is much wider.
Identifying a 3 triangle car logo is basically a game of "spot the difference." Once you see the specific way the points connect, you’ll never mix them up again. Mitsubishi is the old guard, the solid foundation. Everyone else is just playing with the same geometry to try and capture a bit of that same perceived strength.
Next time you're at that red light, look for the gaps between the shapes. If it's solid, you're looking at history. If there's space for the paint to show through, you're looking at the new wave of automotive branding.
Actionable Insight: If you are shopping for a car based on a logo you liked, always verify the manufacturer's parent company. Many "3 triangle" brands are subsidiaries of larger conglomerates like SAIC or Stellantis, which affects where you can get the car serviced and how well it will hold its resale value compared to an established brand like Mitsubishi.