[10] 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.

[12] The company's logo, initially a lion walking on an arrow, symbolized the speed, strength, and flexibility of the Peugeot saw blades.

[22] At the 1901 Paris Salon, Peugeot debuted a tiny shaft-driven 652 cc (40 cu in) 5 hp (3.7 kW) one-cylinder, dubbed "Bébé" ("baby"), and shed its conservative image, becoming a style leader.

[23] After placing 19th in the 1902 Paris-Vienna Rally with a 50 hp (37.3 kW) 11,322 cc (691 cu in) racer, and failing to finish with two similar cars, Peugeot quit racing.

[23] The same year, Peugeot returned to racing with a team of three driver-engineers (a breed typical of the pioneer period, exemplified by Enzo Ferrari among others): Jules Goux (graduate of Arts et Metiers, Paris), Paolo Zuccarelli (formerly of Hispano-Suiza), and Georges Boillot (collectively called Les Charlatans), with 26-year-old Swiss engineer Ernest Henry to make their ideas reality.

[25] It proved faster than other cars of its time, and Boillot won the 1912 French Grand Prix at an average of 68.45 mph (110.2 km/h), despite losing third gear and taking a 20-minute pit stop.

In 1914, Boillot's 3-liter L5 set a new Indy lap record of 99.5 mph (160.1 km/h), and Duray placed second (beaten by ex-Peugeot ace René Thomas in a 6,235 cc (380 cu in) Delage).

For the 1913 French Grand Prix, an improved L5 (with 5,655 cc (345 cu in) engine) was produced with a pioneering ballbearing crankshaft, gear-driven camshafts, and dry sump lubrication, all of which soon became standard on racing cars; Zuccarelli was killed during testing on public roads,[26] but Boillot easily won the event, making him (and Peugeot) the race's first double winner.

The firm designed and built the Peugeot 8Aa engines which equipped the 1,123 Voisin VIII bombers and cannon fighters used by the Aéronautique Militaire.

[30] Additionally, Peugeot were one of the major license producers of the Hispano-Suiza 8 aero engines which powered many French and British fighter aircraft during the second half of the conflict.

In 1934, Peugeot introduced the 402 BL Éclipse Décapotable, the first convertible with a retractable hardtop[34][35][36] — an idea followed later by the Ford Skyliner in the 1950s and revived in the modern era by the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder in 1995.

[citation needed] The company began selling cars in the United States in 1958, and in 1960 introduced the Peugeot 404, which used a 1,618 cc (99 cu in) engine, tilted 45 degrees.

It remained on sale in many markets until 1998, overlapping with the introduction of the 106 in 1991, and ceasing production at the launch of the 206, the best-selling Peugeot model of all time, with 8,358,217 cars sold by 2012.

In 1997, just six years after pulling out of both United States and Canadian markets, Peugeot returned to Mexico after a 36-year absence, under the Chile–Mexico Free Trade Agreement.

[48] In October 2013, Peugeot closed their production plant at Aulnay-sous-Bois as part of a restructuring plan to reduce overcapacity in the face of a shrinking domestic market.

As part of this agreement, Dongfeng Motors and the French government were each to buy 14% stakes in the company, creating three partners with equal voting rights.

[54] The French government took the view the deal did not require approval by Brussels as EU competition rules do not count public investment in a company on the same terms as a private investor as state aid.

In July 2014, the joint venture, Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën, disclosed they were building a fourth factory in China in Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, targeting the manufacture of 300,000 sport-utility and multipurpose vehicles a year, starting towards the end of 2016.

Participation in a variety of events continued until World War I, but in 1912, Peugeot made its most notable contribution to motor sporting history when one of their cars, driven by Georges Boillot, won the French Grand Prix at Dieppe.

This revolutionary car was powered by a straight-4 engine designed by Ernest Henry under the guidance of the technically knowledgeable racing drivers Paul Zuccarelli and Georges Boillot.

When one of the Peugeot racers remained in the United States during World War I and parts could not be acquired from France for the 1914 season, owner Bob Burman had it serviced in the shop of Harry Miller by a young mechanic named Fred Offenhauser.

They might have won again in 1968, but while in second place, their engine blew and ultimately Nick Nowicki and Paddy Cliff upheld Peugeot's honour by winning the rally.

Following FIA's banning of Group B cars for 1987, in May after Henri Toivonen's fatal accident, Todt was outraged and even (unsuccessfully) pursued legal action against the federation.

On 31 October 2017, Peugeot announced that it would end its program in the Dakar Rally after the 2018 edition in order to focus on its FIA World Rallycross Championship career.

After successfully but narrowly defending their manufacturers' title in 2001, Peugeot Sport dominated the 2002 season, taking eight wins in the hands of Grönholm and Gilles Panizzi.

During 1998 the 406 apparently lacked sufficient horsepower to compete with the front runners' Nissan Primeras and Honda Accords; this was mentioned during a particularly strong showing from Harvey's 406 at the Oulton Park BTCC meeting of 1998 when motorsport commentator Charlie Cox stated: "some people say (the 406) is down on power – you're kidding".

For the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs finished first and second overall, led by drivers Marc Gené, David Brabham, and Alexander Wurz.

[91] Loosely based on the shape and design of the production 208, the T16 is a lightweight 875 kg (1,929 lb) vehicle that uses the rear wing from the Peugeot 908, and has a 3.2-litre, twin-turbo V6 engine, developing 875 bhp (652 kW; 887 PS) with the aim of competing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

[92] In the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, the main character's flying car (known in-universe as a "Spinner") was branded as a Peugeot as part of a proposed advertising campaign to re-enter the US market.

[citation needed] Peugeot Motocycles company remained a major producer of scooters, underbones, mopeds, and bicycles in Europe, as of 2018.