Previous manufacturerBack to index pageNext vehicle Peugeot  

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”.


Copyright © 1997 - 2024 Danish Army Vehicles Homepage