He later moved to Georges Richard where he met Jacques Bizet, who had the funds to back a new automotive brand and the ambition to leave a legacy to rival that of his father.

The two friends decided not to give their names to the car, instead opting to call it "Le Zèbre" (The Zebra), which was originally a nickname given to a clerk of their former employer.

The Type A was well received by the public, and attracted investment from influential businessmen Emile Akar and Joseph Lamy, which enabled factory relocation and expansion.

The success of the Type A was further assured by Baudry de Saunier, the greatest French automotive journalist of the time, who repeatedly extolled the car’s virtues.

Le Zèbre’s ownership structure was revised, with Jacques Bizet resigning his executive position, although retaining a commercial stake in the company.

Le Zèbre struggled to cope with the loss of these key personnel and their associated capital, as well a good deal of their commercial network which Lamy and Akar were able to lure away to their new project.

Another collaboration with Ricardo featured a radical single-cylinder, opposed-piston, two-stroke, diesel-engine and was shown at the 1931 Paris Salon, but came too late to save the company.