Letourneur et Marchand

Letourneur & Marchand, located in the prosperous Paris suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a car body manufacturing business which became one of the last French coachbuilders.

Since 1900, Letourneur had worked as a designer for the established carriage manufacturer Binder Carrossier in Neuilly-sur-Seine, which Marchand also joined shortly afterwards after completing his training as a wheelwright.

In 1924 the company created a subsidiary called Autobineau to specialise in sedan and limousine car bodies produced in greater volumes and in a slightly more standardised format than was associated with the upmarket coach builders.

Marcel Letourneur often created aerodynamically designed bodies that had a low beltline and did without a central vehicle pillar in order to make the roof structure appear lighter.

This included, among other things, France's economic weakness in the early post-war years, which meant that demand for exclusive luxury vehicles was very limited.

Letourneur et Marchand also found themselves one of numerous auto-businesses far too small to feature significantly in the government's vision for an export led French auto-industry dominated by a handful of large manufacturers.

[4] Unfortunately the Frégate itself had got off to a slow start in the market place, being beset by teething problems and reliability issues, and although sources indicate that during the second half of the decade it became a much more dependable vehicle, in terms of sales volumes it was hopelessly out competed by the Simca Vedette and the Citroën DS.