Peugeot Cars

Peugeot has a long history of manufacturing cars; it has been doing so since 1889. The company got its start in 1810, when the Peugeots purchased a cereal mill near Sous Cratet, and began the process of changing it into a steel foundry. The factory began making sheet metal and tools, but their first specialty, the handsaw, inspired Peugeot's famous emblem.

In the company's beginnings, the Peugeot brothers' creativity and ingenuity were the cornerstones of its success. They found a place in the market for almost everything they made, from crinolines for dresses, to coffee grinders and pepper mills.

In 1869, Peugeot saw a new trend in the way vehicles were designed, and they began building carriages for the army. Through the end of the 19th century, Peugeot continued to be a trendspotter, and was great at developing forms of transport that met those trends, such as the bicycle.

By 1889, there were 1,100 people working in Peugeot's factories, and the first steam engine built by the company, the Serpollet-Peugeot, debuted at a show in Paris; the engine was in the first car to bear the Peugeot name.

The year after the Serpollet-Peugeot debuted, Armand Peugeot had developed a gasoline-powered car, the Peugeot Type 2. This demonstrated the company's commitment to innovation; only 3 years after the first car was built, Peugeot was the first car maker to use rubber tires.

Sales of Peugeot cars were growing rapidly, and by 1900, there were 500 cars being made per year. To keep up with demand, a headquarters was set up in Levallois near Paris. Twenty years after that, the 100,000th car rolled off the assembly line.

In 1934 the car maker showed off the first cabriolet coupe equipped with a retractable roof, a feature which continues to be popular to this day. A year after, the 402 debuted, a car ahead of its competitors because of its aerodynamic styling.

In 1955, Peugeot released the 403, which was the beginning of a long and successful partnership with Italian car designer Pininfarina. The 403 was the first of Peugeot's cars to have a convex windshield, and the first to have a million models produced. Continuing the tradition of innovative styling, in 1979, Peugeot was the first car company to offer an optional turbocharged diesel motor.

In 1978, Peugeot Citroën of the United Kingdom bought out the European divisions of Chrysler: Simca, Chrysler UK, and Chrysler España. This created a solid foundation for the company to grow on, but the immense popularity of the 205 and 206 models have allowed Peugeot to expand its reach even further.