Undoubtedly the most famous French car make, Peugeot is today part of the PSA Peugeot Citroen group.
Peugeot History
Interestingly Peugeots first car in 1889 was a steam-engine-powered three-wheeler. Fortunately, those making decisions at Peugeot could read the signs of the times and a decision was made to quickly abandon the steam engine for the internal combustion engine.
This was done the very next year and four wheel internal combustion engine car was produced in 1890. Peugeot even managed to be the first car manufacturer to use rubber tyres.
They also later ventured into motorcycles. After the second world war the Peugeot 203 was released into the market. It sold briskly as did the models that followed it.
Always very well designed with the French touch and with a strong reliable engine that saw strong sales over the years even in French colonies in Africa where most motoring was done in rough tracks rather than roads.
In 1974, after intervention by the French government to save Citroen, Peugeot bought a 30 per cent stake in Citroen. After two years it took complete control of the then struggling French car maker.
Over the years the Peugeot management has successfully run both brands and kept them in the highly competitive world car market. There is no denying that Peugeot has come up with many classic over the years that have kept people talking for a long time.
The first example of this that comes to mind is the Peugeot 504 that has also seen great success in rallying events. The Peugeot 404 was another huge success that grew into a legend. These days dealers in Australia proudly display and sell the 406 and 607 models amongst others.