Peugeot

French car and light commercial vehicle manufacturer, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, founded in 1885 when Armand Peugeot (1849–1915) began making bicycles; the company bought the rival firm Citroën in 1974 and the European operations of the American Chrysler Company in 1978. In 2006 it sold 3.36 million vehicles worldwide, equivalent to a market share of 5.2%.

In 1889 Armand Peugeot produced his first steam car and in 1890 his first petrol-driven car, with a Daimler engine. Peugeot's cars did well in races and were in demand from the public, and by 1900 he was producing a range of models. In the 1930s Peugeot sporting family cars sold widely. In 1978, after the acquisition of Chrysler in Europe, the Talbot marque was briefly reintroduced before being dropped for cars in 1986 and for commercial vehicles in 1992. More recently, the company has undertaken joint ventures in Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.