Peugeot location The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in in France , [5] with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then bicycles. The Peugeot company and family are originally from Sochaux , France. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant and Peugeot museum there. Peugeot has received many international awards for its vehicles, including six European Car of the Year awards. In and , Peugeot ranked the second lowest for average CO 2 emissions among generalist brands in Europe, the Renault car maker group being ranked first, with Peugeot has been involved successfully in motor sport for more than a century. Peugeot Sport won the World Rally Championship five times , , , , , the Dakar Rally seven times , , , , , , , the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times , , , the World Endurance Championship twice , , the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup twice , surpassing Toyota and Audi and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge Championship three times. The company's logo, initially a lion walking on an arrow, symbolized the speed, strength and flexibility of the Peugeot saw blades. Armand Peugeot became interested in the automobile early on and, after meeting with Gottlieb Daimler and others, was convinced of its viability. The car was more sophisticated than many of its contemporaries, with a three-point suspension and a sliding-gear transmission. More cars followed, 29 being built in , 40 in , 72 in , in , and in Peugeot became the first manufacturer to fit rubber tyres solid, rather than pneumatic to a petrol-powered car. Five Peugeots qualified for the main event, and all finished. In , the first Peugeot engines were built; no longer were they reliant on Daimler. Peugeot Motocycles remains the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Peugeot added motorcycles to its range in , and they have been built under the Peugeot name ever since. The salon showed Peugeot's first six-cylinder, and marked Tony Huber joining as engine builder. In addition, a new factory opened the same year at Sochaux, which became the main plant in They did so with an engineering tour de force : a dual overhead camshaft DOHC 7. In , Boillot's 3-liter L5 set a new Indy lap record of During the First World War , Peugeot turned largely to arms production, becoming a major manufacturer of arms and military vehicles, from armoured cars and bicycles to shells. Paris-Rouen Peugeot Type a midrange car produced in After the war, car production resumed in earnest. Racing continued as well, with Boillot entering the Targa Florio in a 2. During the s, Peugeot expanded, in splitting the cycle pedal and motor business off to form Cycles Peugeot, the consistently profitable cycle division seeking to free itself from the rather more cyclical auto business, and taking over the defunct Bellanger and De Dion companies in New for was the Peugeot , the cheapest car on the French market, [30] and the first to use the later Peugeot trademark and registered as such —three digits with a central zero. The would get independent front suspension in , [32] Soon afterwards, the Depression hit; Peugeot sales decreased, but the company survived. The Peugeot system of using three digit names with a central 0 was introduced in The first digit has always signified the car's size and the final digit has indicated the generation of vehicle. In , attempting a revival of fortune, the company unveiled a new, aerodynamically styled range. More recently, many manufacturers have offered retractable hardtops, including Peugeot itself with the cc. Three models of the s were the Peugeot , Peugeot , and Peugeot These cars had curvaceous designs, with headlights behind sloping grille bars, evidently inspired by the Chrysler Airflow. For , the new Airflow-inspired which ran until and a based large model, designed by Andrean, featured a vertical fin and bumper, with the first high-mounted taillight. Peugeot Type produced from to Peugeot cabriolet. The protected position of the headlights behind the grill became a key identifier for the Peugeot brand during the s. In , [37] the company restarted car production with the , delivering 14, copies. Peugeot took over Chenard-Walcker in , having already been required to acquire a controlling interest in Hotchkiss in With a 1. The proved rugged enough to win the East African Safari Rally four times, in , , , and More models followed, many styled by Pininfarina , such as the , one of Peugeot's most distinctive models. Like many European manufacturers, collaboration with other firms increased; Peugeot worked with Renault from and Volvo from Several Peugeot models were assembled in Australia, commencing with the in Peugeot , the sedan version of the cabriolet driven by the American TV detective Columbo. The Peugeot was the manufacturer's first front wheel drive model and the best selling car in France in , and Peugeot , Car of the year in Europe. Peugeot thus briefly controlled the Italian Maserati marque, but disposed of it in May The group then took over the European division of Chrysler which were formerly Rootes and Simca , in as the American auto manufacturer struggled to survive. In , Peugeot launched the successful Peugeot supermini, which is largely credited for turning the company's fortunes around. The was regularly the bestselling car in France, and was also very popular in other parts of Europe, including Britain, where sales regularly topped 50, a year by the late s. It won plaudits for its styling, ride and handling. It remained on sale in many markets until , overlapping with the introduction of the in , and ceasing production at the launch of the , which also proved hugely popular across Europe. By , the company had dropped the Talbot brand for passenger cars when it ceased production of the Simca-based Horizon, Alpine, and Solara models, as well as the Talbot Samba supermini which was based on the Peugeot What was to be called the Talbot Arizona became the Peugeot , with the former Rootes plant in Ryton and Simca plant in Poissy being turned over for Peugeot assembly. Producing Peugeots in Ryton was significant, as it signalled the first time Peugeots would be built in Britain. The was the first Peugeot-badged hatchback of its size, and sold well across Europe. The 's successor, the , was also built at Ryton. The saloon was launched in to compete with the likes of the Ford Sierra , and was voted European Car of the Year. This, too, was a very popular car across Europe, and continued to be available in Africa and Asia after it was replaced by the nearly a decade later. Production of the in Europe was divided between Britain and France, although its successor was only produced in France. The , Peugeot's entry-level model from , was also produced solely in France. The Talbot name survived for a little longer on commercial vehicles until before being shelved completely. As experienced by other European volume car makers, Peugeot's United States and Canadian sales faltered and finally became uneconomical, as the Peugeot design aged. For a time, distribution in the Canadian market was handled by Chrysler. Several ideas to turn around sales in the United States, such as including the Peugeot in its lineup, were considered but not pursued. In the early s, the newly introduced proved uncompetitive with domestic and import models in the same market segment, and sold less than 1, units. Total sales fell to 4, units in and 2, through July , which caused the company to cease its U. However Peugeot models —present are not to be bought or imported into the United States from Mexico. This announcement resulted in the loss of 2, jobs, as well as about 5, jobs in the supply chain. The plant produced its last Peugeot on 12 December , and finally closed down in January Peugeot set an ambitious target of selling 4 million units annually by the end of the decade. In , its sales stayed below the 2 million mark. In mid, "adverse market and industry conditions" were blamed for falls in sales and operating losses. In , Peugeot returned to the Canadian market with the scooter brand only. Peugeot still plans on developing new models to compete in segments where it currently does not compete. Despite Peugeot's sportscar racing program, the company is not prepared to build a pure sportscar any more hardcore than the RC Z sports-coupe. It is also pursuing government funding to develop a diesel-hybrid drivetrain , which might be key to its expansion. In it decided to re-enter India after 14 years with a new factory at Sanand , Gujarat. Peugeot re-entered the Philippines in after having a short presence in with distribution done by the Alvarez Group. In December , GM sold its entire Peugeot stake, taking a loss of about 70 million euros. In October , Peugeot closed their production plant at Aulnay-sous-Bois as part of a restructuring plan to reduce overcapacity in the face of a shrinking domestic market. The pair at the time were jointly operating three car-manufacturing plants in China, with a capacity of producing , vehicles a year. The combined company will be called Stellantis. The merger should make it easier for Peugeot to establish dealerships as FCA already has a extensive network of dealerships in the United States. Peugeot has produced six winners of the European Car of the Year. Peugeot has produced two Car of the Year award winners in Ireland since Peugeot has produced four " Car of the Year Auto Europa" award winners in Italy in 28 years, since Similar to the drivetrain model used in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt , the RC concept promises the ability to run solely on electric power for extended periods, with a hybrid electric powertrain filling in the gaps when extra range is needed.