The car was manufactured at the company's Sochaux plant near the Swiss frontier, and is today celebrated in the adjacent Peugeot museum.

Initially, the 201 range was powered by a 1122 cc engine developing 23 hp (17 kW) at 3500 rpm (top speed: 80 km/h / 50 mph).

This was followed by a 28 hp (21 kW) engine of 1307 cc in September 1934, when the revised 201 D (and the longe wheelbase DL light truck derivative) were introduced.

The simpler beam front axle version remained available, but the optional independent suspension system reportedly improved road holding and reduced steering column vibration.

[citation needed] In the early twentieth century, car manufacturers paid little attention to the naming of their vehicles.

Peugeot took effective steps to protect all such automobile names, to the discomfiture of Porsche in the 1960s as they prepared to launch their new 901 model.