The History of Peugeot: Two Centuries From Saws to Electric Cars

Key dates from 1810 to 2021

From saws and pepper mills to the lion badge

The brothers Jean-Pierre and Jean-Frédéric Peugeot set up a foundry in Hérimoncourt in 1810, and the business soon made saw blades, tools and household goods. The lion symbol was registered as a trademark on 20 November 1858. A local goldsmith, Justin Blazer, drew it to stand for the strength and sharpness of Peugeot saw blades. The famous Peugeot pepper mill dates from 1874.

Bicycles came next. In 1882 Armand Peugeot introduced the "Le Grand Bi" penny-farthing, and cycles became a major business for the family for decades. That experience with light metal frames and series production helped when Armand turned to motor vehicles.

The first Peugeot cars (1889–1914)

The first Peugeot car was a three-wheeled steam vehicle designed by Léon Serpollet in 1889; only four were made. A year later the firm switched to a four-wheeled car with a petrol engine built by Panhard under a Daimler licence. In 1894 five Peugeots entered the Paris–Rouen trial, often described as the first motor competition, and all of them finished.

Family disagreements followed. In 1896 Armand set up his own company, the Société Anonyme des Automobiles Peugeot, and began building engines in-house at a new factory in Audincourt. Output rose quickly: 156 cars in 1898 and 300 in 1899, almost double by our calculation. By 1903 the firm built half of all the cars made in France.

The small Bébé appeared in 1901, and in 1912 a new Bébé was designed by Ettore Bugatti. The Sochaux factory opened in 1910, the same year that the car company and the family's cycle and motorcycle business joined again. Sochaux still builds Peugeots today.

Racing success: Grand Prix and Indianapolis

The early racing cars were technically ahead of their time. In 1912 Georges Boillot won the French Grand Prix in a Peugeot with a twin-overhead-camshaft engine and four valves per cylinder. That layout is now standard in most modern petrol engines.

The cars also won in America. Jules Goux took the Indianapolis 500 in 1913, Dario Resta won in 1916 and Howdy Wilcox in 1919. Boillot also won the French Grand Prix again in 1913 and the Targa Florio in 1919. Later decades brought rally and endurance wins, listed further down.

The 201, the 402 and the war years

In 1926 the cycle business split off as Cycles Peugeot. Three years later the Peugeot 201 introduced the naming system that still identifies the brand: three digits, with a zero in the middle. The first digit gave the size of the car and the last digit its generation.

The 402 BL Éclipse of 1934 had a retractable metal hardtop, decades before such roofs became common. The 402 was built from 1935 to 1941, and the smaller 202 from 1938 to 1942. During the Second World War, Sochaux worked under German occupation. After an air raid in July 1943 killed 110 people, the management made a deal with resistance agents to sabotage the plant instead of bombing it again.

After 1945: the 203, 404 and 504

Car production restarted in 1946 with the 202, and 14,000 were delivered. By our calculation, that is about 47 times the company's output of 1899. The 203 of 1947 was the first new post-war model. It had coil springs, rack-and-pinion steering and hydraulic brakes, and the old 1cars text called its demand a record for the company.

The brand then built a reputation for tough saloons. The 404 of 1960 won the East African Safari Rally in 1963, 1966, 1967 and 1968. Assembly in Australia began with the 203 in 1953 and continued with the 403, 404 and 504 until the 505 in the early 1980s. Sales in the United States started in 1958. Peugeot also worked with Renault from 1966 and Volvo from 1972; the three shared the PRV V6 engine, first built in 1974.

PSA: Citroën, Chrysler Europe and Talbot

In 1974 the company bought 30 % of Citroën, which was in financial trouble, and in 1975 it took full control with French state support. The merger created the PSA group in 1976. Two years later, in 1978, it also bought Chrysler Europe, and its former Chrysler and Simca models were sold as Talbots until 1987. The story of its partner brand is told in the history of Citroën.

The 205 and the comeback of the 1980s

The 1983 Peugeot 205 rescued the company's finances. It sold strongly across Europe, and the old 1cars text noted British sales above 50,000 a year by the late 1980s. The 205 Turbo 16 won the World Rally Championship drivers' and manufacturers' titles in 1985 and 1986.

The 405 of 1987 won the European Car of the Year award. Rally-raid versions of the 205 and 405 Turbo 16 also won four Dakar Rallies in a row, from 1987 to 1990. In 1991, after 33 years, the brand left the United States and Canada. The old 1cars text added that a joint venture in China built the 504 and 505 from 1985 to 1997.

Le Mans, the 206 and the 2000s

Peugeot won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1992 and 1993 with the 905. The team returned to rallying with the 206 WRC in 1999, took eight wins and the drivers' title in 2002 and withdrew after 2005. On 14 June 2009 the 908 HDi FAP won Le Mans again, with a Peugeot one-two.

The 206 became one of the company's biggest sellers, with 8,358,217 sold by 2012. By our calculation, that is more than seven years of Peugeot's entire 2024 sales. The British Ryton plant closed in 2006, and the Aulnay-sous-Bois plant near Paris in October 2013. In 2011 the company announced a return to India with a factory planned in Sanand, Gujarat.

Part of Stellantis since 2021

In 2014 the Peugeot family cut its share from 25 % to 14 %, while Dongfeng and the French state each took 14 %. PSA later took over Opel and Vauxhall, and Carlos Sainz won the 2018 Dakar for Peugeot before the programme ended. The merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler closed on 16 January 2021, creating Stellantis. A new shield-shaped logo with a lion's head, inspired by the 1960s badge, followed in February 2021.

More than 50 million vehicles with the lion badge have been built since 1891. The range is now built around the 208, 2008, 308, 408, 3008 and 5008, with electric versions, and the company aimed to offer an electrified version of every model by 2025. Its vans, such as the Peugeot Partner, are among its best-known products.

Models that defined each era

Which Peugeot to look at: our verdict

For collectors, the 205 GTI and the 205 Turbo 16 are the most sought-after modern classics, and the 404 suits buyers who want a durable 1960s saloon. For everyday use, a recent 308 or 3008 gives the most car for the money, while the electric versions suit short commutes with home charging. Compare current Peugeot models with their rivals in the 1cars comparison tool, or use the car finder to filter by body type and budget. All models in the catalogue are listed on the Peugeot brand page.

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