1 8 1 0
Born into a family of millers near Montbéliard,
France, the Peugeot brothers convert a grain mill into a
steel foundry to supply the local clock industry with
springs.
1 8 1 8 -
1 8 5 7
A patent for cold rolling is filed in 1818. New
plants are opened and production is diversified to
include band saws, springs, corset stays, metal crinoline
hoops, tools and coffee grinders.
1 8 5 8
The lion emblem begins to appear on Peugeot products.
It has a dual meaning, since a lion is depicted on the
coat of arms of the Franche Comté region and is also the
trademark that is stamped on cold-rolled steel products.
It symbolizes the qualities of steel saws, which have
strong teeth and flexible blades for rapid sawing.
1 8 8 5
At the initiative of Armand Peugeot, the company
begins to produce bicycles, tricycles and quadricycles.
1 8 8 6
Series production of bicycles begins in Beaulieu.
1 8 8 9
Armand Peugeot unveils a Peugeot tricycle equipped
with a Serpollet steam engine at the World’s Fair in
Paris.
1 8 9 0
The first Peugeot quadricycle with a Daimler gasoline
engine rolls off the lines in Valentigney.
1 8 9 2
Twenty-nine Peugeot Type 3 quadricycles are produced
and the first Michelin tires are mounted on a Peugeot
oil-burning tricycle.
1 8 9 5
The first “Lion” ball bearings are
produced.
1 8 9 6
The “Automobiles Peugeot” company continues
to produce cars and trucks under the Peugeot marque,
while “Les Fils de Peugeot Frères”
manufactures other products.
1 8 9 7
The Type 15 is the first model equipped with an
engine produced entirely by Peugeot.
1 9 0 0
Output for the year totals 500 cars.
1 9 0 1 -
1 9 0 2
Peugeot produces its first 1.5 hp motorcycle with a
top speed of 25 to 40 km/h. Automobiles Peugeot
headquarter is located in Levallois, near Paris. The
Audincourt factory has 800 employees, while Lille hires
600 employees.
1 9 0 5
Series production begins of the “Bébé
Peugeot”, the first popular model for the general
public. 400 units are produced. "Les Fils de Peugeot
Frères" develops a car named the Peugeot Lion.
1 9 0 8
Automobiles Peugeot and Fils de Peugeot Frères
together produce 2,200 cars.
1 9 1 0
“Automobiles Peugeot” and “Les Fils de
Peugeot Frères” merge to create “Automobiles
et Cycles Peugeot”, which is headed by Robert
Peugeot. However, two separate model ranges continue to
be produced until World War I.
1 9 1 2
A body shop comes on stream in Mandeure. Peugeot
acquires the land on which the Sochaux-Montbéliard
factory will be built.
1 9 1 3
Peugeot manufactures half of the cars produced in
France, wins the Indianapolis 500, and sets a world speed
record (from a running start) of 170.5 km/h. Peugeot wins
again at Indianapolis in 1916 and in 1919. The Peugeot
Bébé Lion, designed by Ettore Bugatti, is introduced.
Through 1916, 3,095 units are produced.
1 9 1 5
Armand Peugeot, founder of the company’s
automobile business, dies.
1 9 1 4 -
1 9 1 8
The Peugeot plants support the war effort, supplying
1,000 motorcycles, 63,000 bicycles, 3,000 cars, 6,000
trucks, 1,400 tank engines, 10,000 airplane engines and 6
million bombs and shells. France’s first company
newsletter, Le Bulletin des Usines, is created.
Peugeot decides to adopt production methods introduced by
pioneering US management consultant Frederick Taylor and
introduces the eight-hour workday in 1919.
1 9 2 1
Peugeot acquires carmaker De
Dion Bouton. The
Quadrillette is launched. The model is a three-speed, 4
hp, two-seater with a top speed of 60 km/h. Including
remodeled versions, more than 60,000 units are sold
through 1930.
1 9 2 6
Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot is separated into two
companies: Cycles Peugeot and Société des Automobiles
Peugeot.
1 9 2 9
The Peugeot 201 is launched, the first model whose
name includes a 0 for the second digit, which is a
practice still used today. It is equipped with
independent front suspension in 1931, a system that
adopted by all carmakers. The same year, Madame Leblanc,
driving a Peugeot 5CV, defeats her male rivals to win the
Tour de France Automobile.
1 9 3 2
The 301 is introduced and the 201 wins the Monte
Carlo road rally. André Boillot sets an international
record by driving a 301C a total of 2,650 km in 24 hours.
1 9 3 3
The first power tools are introduced. The Sochaux
factory includes 250,000 sq. m. of workshops and employs
9,000 people. Housing facilities are provided, medical
insurance is introduced, and sports associations are
created.
1 9 3 4
Two aerodynamic cars are introduced: the 6-cylinder
601, of which 4,000 units are produced, and, in response
to Citroën’s launch of a front wheel drive model,
the 401, of which 13,545 units are produced in less than
one year.
1 9 3 5
Peugeot introduces the 402, of which 30,800 units are
sold. The model range includes the 402 Eclipse with a
retractable electric roof.
1 9 3 6
Sedan and convertible versions of the 302 are
introduced, of which 25,000 units are sold. Other
vehicles launches include 500 cc, 350 cc and 175 cc
motorcycles and 100 cc mopeds.
1 9 3 7
Emile Darl’Mat, a Peugeot dealer since 1923,
develops the version of the 402 that bears his name and
which wins the Le Mans 24-hour race the following year.
1 9 3 8
The 202 is introduced. Through 1949, more than 1.6
million units, both sedans and commercial vehicles, are
produced. Annual output reaches 500,000 cars, one-fourth
of France’s total automobile production.
1 9 4 1
The VLV, a three-wheeled electric city car, is
developed, of which 377 units are produced.
1 9 4 3
The Sochaux plant is occupied, then bombed in July.
Later, the other plants are ransacked and the staff is
dispersed. Getting the facility up and running again is a
challenge; the new model Peugeot 203 will not roll off
the lines until 1948.
1 9 4 8
The 203, the marque’s first unibody, is
introduced. Some 700,00 units are produced through 1960.
1 9 5 2
Peugeot produces its one-millionth vehicle.
1 9 5 5
Italian designer Pininfarina creates the 403, of
which more than one million units are produced through
1966.
1 9 5 8
Peugeot Motors of America opens headquarter in New
York. Cycles Peugeot begins to refocus on the
manufacturing of automobile parts.
1 9 5 9
Peugeot begins series production of its first
mass-produced diesel-powered model, the 403. Considered
too hazardous for cyclists and pedestrians, the raised
lion on the hood of the 203 and 403 is discontinued.
1 9 6 0
The 404 is introduced, of which 1.5 million units are
produced in France through 1976. Peugeot begins producing
clothes irons again, a product it had stopped
manufacturing in 1910. During the 1960s, production is
restructured, with parts outsourced to suppliers,
transfers among Peugeot plants, and cycle plants
converted to automobile production.
1 9 6 1
Construction begins of the Mulhouse production
center, which will later become the marque’s
second-largest manufacturing facility.
1 9 6 3
Negotiations are launched with Citroën to cooperate in the purchase of
raw materials and equipment. Talks are broken off in
1965. Peugeot rolls out its three-millionth vehicle.
1 9 6 5
“Société des Automobiles Peugeot” changes
its legal status to become the “Peugeot SA”
holding company, which controls all the Group’s
companies. Peugeot introduces its first front wheel drive
vehicle, the 204. The 404 Diesel one-seater sets 40
international records in its class.
1 9 6 6
An agreement is signed with Renault for a number of
joint projects, including “Française de
Mécanique” and STA. « Peugeot et Ci » changes its
name to « Aciers et Outillages Peugeot ».
1 9 6 8
A test center is built in Belchamp. The 504, the marque’s premium model,
is introduced.
1 9 6 9
The 304 and the coupe and convertible versions of the
504 are launched.
1 9 7 1
PRV (Peugeot Renault Volvo), a Franco-Swedish engine
company, is created. The 504 range is broadened to
include an estate, a family model and a commercial
vehicle.
1 9 7 2
Peugeot launches the world’s smallest sedan, the
104. The model is manufactured in Mulhouse, with a total
of 1.2 million units produced through 1987.
1 9 7 3
Automobiles Peugeot changes its corporate governance
to the European limited liability company system with a
supervisory board and a managing board. Peugeot produces
its eight-millionth vehicle.
1 9 7 4
Peugeot SA acquires a 38.2% interest in Citroën SA,
with each marque maintaining its model range and sales
network. Peugeot manages the combined organization,
notably shared operations, such as research, purchasing
and investments. The 504 V6 coupe is introduced.
1 9 7 5
The 604 V6
is launched. More than 153,000 units are produced before
its 1986 phase-out. A plant is built in Kaduna, Nigeria.
1 9 7 6
Peugeot SA and Citroën SA merge and a holding
company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, is created, with two
automobile manufacturing subsidiaries: “Automobiles
Peugeot” and “Automobiles Citroën”.
|
