The origins of the Peugeot family go back to the 15th Century. Established in the region of Montbéliard, which was then part of the Duchy of Wurtemberg, it became French when the area was annexed in the Convention of 1793.

Jean-Jacques Peugeot was a miller in 1725. One of his sons, Jean-Pierre, was a weaver. By leaving his inheritors the Sous-Cratet flour mill at Hérimoncourt, this son was the catalyst for the industrial orientation of the family. In 1810, Jean-Pierre's sons, Jean-Pierre II and Jean-Frédéric, joined forces with Jacques Maillard-Salins (who was a member of the well-known Japy family of watchmakers) to found the Peugeot Brothers and Maillard-Salins company. The company was a specialist manufacturer of laminated steel and tools.

The requirement for the necessary capital to achieve growth led the company to form partnerships with new associates. It became Peugeot-Frères et Compagnie in 1819. Jean-Pierre II and Jean-Frédéric regained their independence in 1832 with the company Peugeot Frères Aînés. This company underwent a crisis in 1851. Jules and Emile, the two sons of Jean-Pierre II, entered a partnership with a nephew to create Peugeot Frères, with its head office in Valentigney.

Eugène and Armand, the sons of Jules and Emile, progressively took control of the company. Business went exceedingly well in this prosperous era of the Second Empire, which enabled them to implement a daring company policy: the working day was reduced to ten hours in 1869, and benefit societies were created, along with a staff pension scheme, an insurance scheme, accident cover etc.

In the decades that followed, the company was strongly influenced by the figure of Armand Peugeot, whose role was to become decisive for the company's future. He had a vision that was to carve out Peugeot's destiny. Without him, the brand would doubtless not have become what it is today. In 1886, he launched the manufacture of bicycles, before becoming interested in automobiles. He understood that the future of the motor car lay in the petrol engine, which was the sole factor that would enable the manufacture of a car that was light and reliable. He was the father of the first petrol-driven Peugeot in 1891, fitted with a Daimler engine.

But Eugène proved to be very hostile towards the automobile, and the two cousins had a falling out. For the moment, however, they remained together. Peugeot Frères became Les Fils de Peugeot Frères, with Eugène as the main shareholder. But conflict eventually broke out. The two men separated their activities and, in 1896, Armand founded the Société des Automobiles Peugeot.

Although the two companies could not compete with each other, the share of business responsibilities nevertheless allowed an exception with the production, from 1905 onwards, of Lion-Peugeot cars by Les Fils de Peugeot Frères, in return for financial compensation. This proved extremely costly to Eugène's three sons (Robert, Pierre and Jules), who took over after their father's death. Hence the merger of the two divisions in 1910. Eugène's sons signed an agreement with Armand to create the Société Anonyme des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot, placed under the management of Robert Peugeot. Armand died in 1915.

In 1928, Jean-Pierre Peugeot, Robert's son, took control of the company's future. He created the football club, FC Sochaux, which was financed by the brand. Maurice Jordan took over from him in 1964 and was the first group manager who was not a member of the Peugeot family. He was followed by François Gauthier, Jacques Calvet, Jean-Martin Folz and, in 2007, Christian Streiff. The family, however, is still to be found at the controls. Pierre Peugeot, chairman of the supervisory board of PSA, was succeeded by his son, Thierry, in the same job.