Peugeot is a major French automobile brand, the second largest car manufacturer in Europe after Volkswagen. The company’s origins date back to 1842, when it manufactured pepper, salt and coffee grinders, and then bicycles in the late 19th century. The global headquarters are in Paris, near the Porte Maillot metro station and the former Concorde Laffitte Hotel (now the Hyatt Regency). The company originally came from Sochaux, France, where Peugeot has a large factory next to the Peugeot Museum. The company also sponsors the Sochaux football team, which was founded in 1928 by a member of the Peugeot family, and the team’s logo is the same lion as the company’s logo.

The Peugeot family of Valentigney, Montbéliard, Franche-Comté, France began in the manufacturing business in 19th century. In 1842, they added the production of coffee, pepper and salt grinders. The company’s entry into the vehicle market was by means of stiff, structured petticoats or crinoline dresses, which used steel rods, leading to umbrella frames, chisels, wire wheels, and bicycles. Armand Peugeot introduced his “Le Grand Bi” penny-farthing in 1882, along with a range of other bicycles. The company’s logo, initially a lion walking on an arrow, symbolized the speed, strength, and flexibility of the Peugeot saw blades. The car and motorcycle company and the bicycle company parted ways in 1926, but the family-owned Cycles Peugeot continued to build bicycles. Armand Peugeot became interested in the automobile early on and, after meeting with Gottlieb Daimler and others were convinced of its viability. The first Peugeot automobile, a three-wheeled, steam-powered car designed by Léon Serpollet, was produced in 1889; only four examples were made. In 1890, after meeting Daimler and Émile Levassor, steam was abandoned in favor of a four-wheeled car with a petrol-fueled internal combustion engine built by Panhard under Daimler license. The car was more sophisticated than many of its contemporaries, with a three-point suspension and a sliding-gear transmission. An example was sold to the young Alberto Santos-Dumont, who exported it to Brazil. More cars followed, 29 being built in 1892, 40 in 1894, 72 in 1895, 156 in 1898, and 300 in 1899. These early models were given “type” numbers. Peugeot became the first manufacturer to fit rubber tires (solid, rather than pneumatic) to a petrol-powered car.