The Origin of the Peugeot Car

The Peugeot car is a masterpiece in design, with performance unlike any other vehicle on the market today. Whether you own a diesel or petrol fuelled Peugeot, there is no doubt you feel blessed and proud to be the owner of this type of vehicle, but did you know it has a rich history you can be proud of as well?

The Peugeot History

The Peugeot brand is one of the oldest brands on the market for cars today; however, when the business first began, its work had little to do with car parts. The business actually began as a manufacturer or coffee, salt, and pepper grinders in 1842. From there, they began manufacturing steel rods, umbrella frames, and wire wheels.

It wasn’t until 1889 when Armand Peugeot led the company in an effort to begin designing the first Peugeot car. Their first motorised vehicle was designed this year, in collaboration with Leon Serpollet, a steam specialist and was a three-wheeler that was steam-powered. The next year, Armand abandoned the idea of using steam for the Peugeot cars, and designed the petrol-powered Type to quadricycle.

In 1896, the company began making Peugeot parts themselves, designing their own horizontal twin engine, running at 8 horse-power. At this time, Armand Peugeot broke away from the main company, which was still designing and manufacturing other items and created a factory of his own called the Societe Anonyme Des Automobiles Peugeot. This factory was designed specifically to manufacture Peugeot parts and cars, and was located in Adincourt. In 1899, 1200 cars were sold in France total, 300 of which were Peugeots, starting the company down a successful and thrilling path to greatness.

There was a short pause in the manufacturing of Peugeot parts as war raged in Europe in the early 1900s, and the company turned to making military vehicles and arms during this time. Soon after the war ended, however, the company realised that cars Europe were no longer just a luxury, but a necessity, leading them to step up the pace on production. In 1921, Peugeot began mass-producing car parts and cars, the first of which was the 201. This launched Peugeot from a small business to a mass-producing success almost instantly, and the success of the 201 was soon followed by the 301, 401, and 601 between 1932 and 1934.

After 1934, Peugeot became very interested in mass-producing cabriolets and coupes, as evident by the 401 and 601 models, which features retractable metal roofs. Soon after, in 1958, Peugeot began to sell their vehicles not only in France and Europe, but in the United States as well. They also began working and collaborating with other manufacturers, like Volvo and Renault in order to design and manufacture better car parts for their customers.

It wasn’t until 1962, though, when the coupe-cabriolet tradition really began for the company; during this year, the 404 Cabriolet was born, a car designed by Pininfarina. This iconic vehicle was a forerunner to today’s Peugeot cars, and is still a favourite among collectors.

200 years after the first Peugeot parts were first manufactured, the company is still celebrating the innovation, history, and creativity that launched them to greatness in the car industry. Remember that the next time you climb into your Peugeot; you are sitting behind the wheel of a car Armand Peugeot dreamed of 200 years ago, and are helping the brand make its mark in history.