Peugeot abandons U.S. market after more than 30-year run

After five years of steadily dwindling sales, French automaker Peugeot S.A. calls it quits in the U.S.

Peugeot informed its 151 American franchisees in a letter that arrived on Aug. 6, 1991, that the company would no longer produce cars for the U.S. market.

In 1990, Peugeot sold just 4,261 cars in the U.S., about 70 percent of them the 405 sedan, compared with 14,336 in 1986. The French automaker entered the U.S. market in 1958 and launched sales of the 404 in 1960.

The new front-wheel-drive 405 sedan, based on a platform shared with the Citroen BX, was introduced in the U.S. in 1989. It was voted European Car of the Year in 1988 and Peugeot banked on a U.S. comeback with the car.
 

It featured four-wheel independent suspension, power rack and pinion steering, four-wheel disc brakes, automatic climate control, central locking and an adjustable steering column. S and Mi variants of the 405 added features like a power moonroof, remote locking, heated front seats, heated mirrors, power windows, cruise control and alloy wheels.

But even the sportiest Mi16 variant of the 405 couldn’t lure a significant number of American buyers into Peugeot’s dealerships.

In March 2021, Stellantis, created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group, said it was dropping plans to resurrect the Peugeot franchise in the United States to focus on existing brands in the market.