Peugeot is a major
French car brand, part of
PSA Peugeot Citroën. It is the second largest automaker in Europe, behind
Volkswagen. Peugeot's roots go back to
bicycle manufacturing at the end of the 19th century. Its headquarters are in
Paris, Avenue de la Grande Armée, close to Porte Maillot and the Concorde Lafayette Hotel.
Company history Although the Peugeot factory had been in the manufacturing business for some time, their entry into the world of wheeled vehicles was by means of the
bicycle.
Armand Peugeot introduced the Peugeot "Le Grand Bi"
penny-farthing in 1882 and a range of bicycles. Peugeot bicycles have been built until very recently, although the car company and bike company parted ways in 1926.
Armand Peugeot became very interested in the automobile early on, and after meeting with
Gottlieb Daimler and others was convinced of its viability. The first Peugeot automobile (a three-wheeled steam-powered car) was produced in 1889, in collaboration with
Léon Serpollet. Steam power was heavy and bulky and required lengthy preparation before running, so it was soon abandoned in favour of the petrol-fueled
internal combustion engine.
1890 saw the first such vehicle, powered by a
Daimler engine and with four wheels.
Further cars followed, twenty-nine being built in 1892. These early models were given Type numbers with the
Type 12, for example, dating from 1895. Peugeot became the first manufacturer to fit rubber
tires to a petrol-powered car that year (solid tires; pneumatic would follow in 1895). The vehicles were still very much
horseless carriages in appearance and were steered by
tiller.
1896 saw the first Peugeot engines built and fitted to the
Type 15; no longer were they reliant on Daimler. Further improvements followed: the engine moved to the front on the
Type 48 and was soon under a
hood (
bonnet) at the front of the car, instead of hidden underneath; the steering wheel was adopted on the
Type 36; and they began to look more like the modern car.
In 1896
Armand Peugeot broke away from the family firm of Les Fils de Peugeot Frères and formed his own company, Société Anonyme des Automobiles Peugeot and built a new factory at
Audincourt.
Peugeot added a
motorcycle to its range in 1903, and motorcycles have been built under the Peugeot name ever since.
By that year, Peugeot produced half of the cars built in France. 1916 and 1919 saw repeat wins at Indianapolis.
During the first World War Peugeot turned largely to arms production, becoming a major manufacturer of arms and military vehicles, from bicycles to tanks and shells. Postwar, car production resumed in earnest; the car was becoming no longer just a plaything for the rich but accessible to many. 1926, however, saw the cycle (pedal and motor) business separate to form
Cycles Peugeot - the consistently profitable cycle division seeking to free itself from the rather more boom-and-bust auto business.
Early history 1929 saw the introduction of the
Peugeot 201, the first car to be numbered in what became the Peugeot way - three digits with a central zero, a registered Peugeot trademark. The
201 was also the first mass-produced car with independent front suspension. Soon afterwards the Depression hit: Peugeot sales decreased, but the company survived. In 1933, attempting a revival of fortune, the company unveiled a new, aerodynamically styled range. In the following year, a car with a folding, retractable hardtop was introduced, an idea re-iterated by the
Ford Skyliner in the 1950s and, revived by the
Mercedes SLK in the mid-1990s. More recently, other manufacturers have taken to the idea of a retractable hard-top including Peugeot itself with the 206 cc.
Three interesting models of the thirties were the
202,
302 and
402. These cars had curvaceous bodies, with headlights behind sloping grille bars. The 402 entered production in 1935 and was produced until the end of 1941, despite France's occupation by the Nazis. The 302 ran from 1936-1938. The 202 was built in series from 1938-1942, and about 20 more examples were built from existing stocks of supplies in February 1945. Regular production began again in mid-1946, and lasted into 1949.
The
Second World War saw Peugeot's factories taken over for the German war effort, producing trucks and vans. The factories were heavily bombed.
Inter war years In 1948 the company restarted in the car business, with the
Peugeot 203. More models followed, many elegantly styled by the Italian design firm of
Pininfarina. The company began selling cars in the United States in 1958. Like many European manufacturers, collaboration with other firms increased: Peugeot worked with
Renault from 1966 and
Volvo Cars from 1972.
Post war In 1974 Peugeot bought a 30% share of
Citroën, and took it over completely in 1975 after the French government gave large sums of money to the new company. Citroën was in financial trouble because it
developed too many radical new models for its financial resources. Some of them, notably the
Citroën SM and the
Comotor rotary engine venture proved unprofitable. Others, the
Citroën CX and
Citroën GS for example, proved very successful in the marketplace.
The joint parent company became the
PSA (Peugeot
Société Anonyme) group, which aimed to keep separate identities for both Peugeot and
Citroën brands, while sharing engineering and technical resources. Peugeot thus briefly controlled the valuable
racing brand name
Maserati, but disposed of it in May 1975 out of short term financial concerns.
Both Citroën
enthusiasts and
automotive journalists point out that the company's legendary
innovation and flair took a marked downturn with the acquisition. The Citroën brand has continued to be successful in terms of sales, and now achieves over a million units annually.
Take over of Citroën and formation of PSA The group then took over
the European division of
Chrysler (which were formerly
Rootes and
Simca), in 1978 as the American auto manufacturer struggled to survive. Further investment was required because
PSA decided to create a new brand for the entity, based of the
Talbot sports car last seen in the 1950s. From then on, the whole Chrysler/Simca range was sold under the
Talbot badge until production of Talbot branded passenger cars was shelved in 1986.
The flagship of this short-lived brand was the
Tagora, a direct competitor for PSA's
604 and
CX models. This was a large, angular saloon based on
Peugeot 505 mechanicals.
All this investment caused serious financial problems for the entire PSA group: PSA lost money from 1980 to 1985. The Peugeot takeover of Chrysler Europe had seen the aging
Chrysler Sunbeam,
Horizon,
Avenger and
Alpine ranges rebadged as Talbots. There were also new Talbots in the early 1980s - the
Solara (a saloon version of the
Alpine hatchback), the
Samba (a small hatchback to replace the
Sunbeam).
1983 saw the launch of the popular and successful
Peugeot 205, which is largely credited for turning the company's fortunes around.
1984 saw the first PSA contacts with
The People's Republic of China, resulting in the successful
Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile venture in Wuhan.
In 1986, the company dropped the Talbot brand for passenger cars when it ceased production of the Simca-based Horizon/Alpine/Solara models. What was to be called the Talbot Arizona became the
309, with the former Rootes plant in
Ryton and Simca plant in
Poissy being turned over for Peugeot assembly. The former was significant, as it signalled the very first time Peugeots would be built in Britain. The Talbot name survived for a little longer on commercial vehicles until 1992 before being shelved completely.
As experienced by other European volume car makers, US sales faltered and finally became uneconomic, as the
Peugeot 505 design aged. The newly introduced
Peugeot 405 proved uncompetitive with models from
Japan, and sold less than 1,000 units. Total sales fell to 4,261 units in 1990 and 2,240 through July, 1991. This caused the company to cease US operations after 33 years.
Beginning in the late 1990s, with Jean-Martin Folz as president of
PSA, the Peugeot-Citroën combination seems to have found a better balance. Savings in costs are no longer made to the detriment of style.
On
April 18,
2006, PSA Peugeot Citroën announced the closure of the
Ryton manufacturing facility in Coventry, England. This announcement resulted in the loss of 2,300 jobs as well as about 5,000 jobs in the supply chain. The plant produced its last
Peugeot 206 on
December 12,
2006 and finally closed down in January 2007.
Peugeot is developing a diesel-electric hybrid version of the
Peugeot 307 that can do 80 mpg. It is a 2-door cabriolet and is currently only in the concept stages, but it promises to be one of the most fuel efficient cars in the world if it ever reaches production.
Take over of Chrysler Europe Peugeot were involved in motorsport from the earliest days and entered five cars for the Paris-Rouen Trials in 1894 with one of them, driven by Lemaitre, finishing second. These trials are usually regarded as the first motor sporting competition. Participation in a variety of events continued until
World War I. But it was in 1912 that Peugeot made its most notable contribution to motor sporting history when one of their cars, driven by
Georges Boillot, won the
French Grand Prix at Dieppe. This revolutionary car was powered by a
Straight-4 engine designed by Ernest Henry under the guidance of the technically knowledgeable racing drivers
Paul Zuccarelli and
Georges Boillot. The design was very influential for racing engines as it featured for the first time
DOHC and 4 valves per cylinder providing for high engine speeds, a radical departure from previous racing engines which relied on huge displacement for power. In 1913 Peugeots of similar design to the 1912 Grand Prix car won the
French Grand Prix at Amiens and the
Indianapolis 500. When one of the Peugeot racers remained in the United States during
World War I and parts could not be acquired from France for the 1914 season, owner
Bob Burma had it serviced in the shop of
Harry Arminius Miller by a young mechanic named
Fred Offenhauser. Their familiarity with the Peugeot engine was the basis of the famed
Miller racing engine, which later developed into the
Offenhauser, or "Offy" racing engine.
The company has had much success in international
rallying, notably with the durable
Peugeot 504, the highly developed four-wheel-drive turbo-charged versions of the
Peugeot 205, and more recently the
Peugeot 206. The 206 rally car had a dramatic impact on the world rally championship, beating the Subaru Impreza, Ford Focus and Mitsubishi Lancer, cars which had traditionally dominated the sport. The 206 was retired practically unbeaten after several successful years, and replaced with the comparatively disappointing
Peugeot 307 cc.
Throughout the mid-1990s, the
Peugeot 406 saloon (called a
sedan in some countries) contested
touring car championships across the world, enjoying dominant success in France, Germany and Australia, yet failing to win a single race in the highly-regarded British Touring Car Championship despite a number of excellent podium finishes under the command of touring car legend Tim Harvey.
The British cars were prepared by Prodrive in 1996, when they sported a red livery, and by MSD in 1997-1998, when they wore a distinctive green and gold flame design. Initially the 406's lack of success was blamed on suspension problems, but it is now clear that the team was underfunded and the engine lacked power.
In 2001, Peugeot entered three 406 coupes into the British touring car championship to compete with the dominant Vauxhall Astra coupes. Unfortunately the 406 coupe was at the end of its product life-cycle and was not competitive, despite some flashes of form towards the end of the year, notably when Peugeot's Steve Soper led a race only to suffer engine failure in the last few laps. The 406 coupes were retired at the end of the year and replaced with the
Peugeot 307 - again, uncompetitively - in 2002.
Until its withdrawal at the end of 2005, Peugeot entered the
Peugeot 307 cc in the
World Rally Championship. Peugeot won the grueling
Paris Dakar Rally each year from 1987 to 1990.
In the 1990s the company competed in the
Le Mans 24 Hours race, winning in 1992 and 1993 with the
905. It will be back in 2007, with the
908 powered by a diesel engine. Peugeot are also involved with the Courage C60 Le Mans racing team.
The company has also been involved in providing
engines to
Formula One teams, notably
McLaren in
1994,
Jordan for the
1995,
1996 and
1997 seasons, and
Prost for the
1998,
1999 and
2000 seasons. Peugeot's F1 interests were sold to
Asiatech at the end of the 2000 season.
Motorsports Peugeot chooses the names used on its models in the form
x0y or
x00y, where
x describes the size of the car (and hence its class) and
y describes the model number (the higher the number, the newer the model). Thus a Peugeot 406 is bigger
and newer than a Peugeot 305. This rule has its exceptions: for instance the Peugeot 309 was produced before the Peugeot 306 - the out-of-step number signified the 309's Talbot underpinnings rather than it coming from a Peugeot lineage. Variants are also excluded: the 206 SW, for example, is about the same length as a "40y" car.
This tradition began in 1929 with the launch of the 201, which followed the 190. All numbers from 101 to 909 have been deposited as
trademarks. Although in 1963
Porsche was forced to change the name of its new 901 coupé to
911, certain
Ferraris and
Bristols have been allowed to keep their Peugeot-style model numbers. An unsubstantiated explanation for the central '0' is that on early models the number appeared on a plate on the front of the car, with the hole for the starting handle coinciding with the zero. More recently, on the 307 cc and the 607 the button to open the trunk is located in the '0' of the label.
For specific niche models such as minivans or SUVs, Peugeot is now using a four digit system, with a double zero in the middle. It was tested with the
4002 concept car. The
1007 used this system when it was launched in 2005, and the upcoming Peugeot Crossover SUV is named
4007.
Peugeot has also announced that after the 9 series, it would start again with 1, producing new 201, 301 or 401.
Peugeot has produced three winners of the
European Car of the Year award.
1969:
Peugeot 504 1988:
Peugeot 405 2002:
Peugeot 307 Other Peugeot models have come either second or third in the contest.
1980:
Peugeot 505 1984:
Peugeot 205 1996:
Peugeot 406 1999:
Peugeot 206 Peugeot model numbers Peugeot also makes
power tools,
knives,
pepper, and
salt grinders.
Peugeot also produced bicycles starting in 1882 in Beaulieu, France (with ten Tour de France wins between 1903 and 1983) followed by motorcycles and cars in 1889. In the late 1980s Peugeot sold the North American rights to the Peugeot bicycle name to ProCycle in Canada (also known as
CCM and better known for its
ice hockey equipment) and the European rights to Cycleurope S.A.
Peugeot remains a major producer of
scooters and
mopeds in Europe.
Other products The common French pronunciation of "Peugeot" is pø:'ʒo (using the
IPA). In the South of
England, it is usually pronounced "PERzho" (IPA 'pɜːʒəʊ), while Americans and other English-speakers pronounce it "pooZHO" (IPA puː'ʒoʊ) or "PYOOzho" ('pjuːʒoʊ). Peugeot and Peugeot cars have also gained the nicknames of 'pug' and 'pugs' in the UK.
Vehicle models 104,
106,
107 201,
202,
203,
204,
205,
206,
207 301,
302,
304,
305,
306,
307,
308,
309 401,
402,
403,
404,
405,
406,
407 504,
505 601,
604,
605,
607,
608 802,
806,
807 905,
907,
908 1007 4007 Numbers 607 Feline Quark 907 RC 908 RC 307 cc Hybrid HDi.
4002 Peugeot 20Cup Peugeot 308 RC Z 
Concept cars Type 15 Peugeot D3A Peugeot D4A Peugeot J7 Peugeot J9 minibus
Peugeot J5 Boxer Expert Partner P4 VLV Peugeot Boxer minibus
Peugeot Pars (also known as Persia)
Peugeot on TV/Movies List of automobile manufacturers List of French companies French bicycle industry Cycles Peugeot
Controlling Factors
Destroyer Escorts (DE)