The Best French Car Brands: From Alpine Trails To Goddesses

Europe has always led the world in terms of affordable motoring for the masses. The historic courtyards and narrow lanes of Continental Europe necessitated tiny transport like the Fiat 500 and original Mini. Yet many of the finest people’s cars originated in France – a nation whose willful disregard for convention has enabled its endlessly creative car industry to debut concepts we now take for granted – disc brakes, self-leveling suspension, hatchbacks, and MPVs.

As a nation reared on affordable family transportation, French luxury car brands are relatively rare. Yet our list of French car companies wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the opulence of Bugatti (one of the most expensive car brands ever launched) or the outrageous performance of Alpine’s A110R, whose carbon-fiber bucket seats and racing harnesses are pre-installed for necessity rather than aesthetics.

Join us as we celebrate the very best of French cars, from the tiny Ligier Myli 4 to the iconic Citroen DS so beloved by French presidents and film stars.

Bugatti

French luxury car brands are unusual, but the Volkswagen-owned Bugatti marque is a glorious exception. And contrary to popular opinion, this is not an Italian car brand. Founded in 1909, Bugatti made racing cars and grand tourers until World War II. It then lay largely dormant until the 1990s EB110GT, which drove better than it looked, while 2005’s Bugatti Veyron rewrote the automotive rulebook. Packing 1001 horses into an 8-liter W16 engine augmented by quad turbos, the Veyron has now been replaced by the astounding 1,479hp Chiron; even the cheapest Chiron costs nearly $3 million and is one of the fastest cars ever made. 

Peugeot

Since its inception in 1840, Peugeot has manufactured tools, clock mechanisms, corsets, sewing machines, and irons. Along the way, a few cars have also borne that iconic lion badge. Some have been kings of the urban jungle – the indestructible 504 and the stellar 205 GTi hot hatchback – while others have been the automotive equivalent of wallpaper paste. Yet Peugeot has never been afraid to experiment, with the RCZ coupe’s double-bubble roof and 1008’s full-width sliding doors testament to a confident manufacturer – still the leading French automaker.

Renault

Over the decades, Renault has also alternated between blandness and innovation. It once sold the manic 5 Turbo hot hatchback and the unutterably dreary 9 sedan (inexplicably voted European Car of the Year forty years ago) in the same showroom. Renault’s gifts to the world have included superchargers, hatchbacks, and MPVs, while its involvement with motorsport has included two Formula 1 constructors’ titles – the F1 team has now been rebranded as Alpine.

Citroën

Should Citroën really appear after Peugeot and Renault? After all, they’ve given the world true pioneers like the basking-shark CX wagon and the family-swallowing 2CV. Yet Citroën has been trapped in an unequal partnership with Peugeot for half a century, often redesigning its bigger sibling’s models rather than remaining the innovator it once was. Still, Citroën deserves recognition for producing some of the most comfortable vehicles ever manufactured (courtesy of their iconic hydropneumatic suspension), while hints of their former Gallic eccentricity still linger.

DS Automobiles

To readers of a certain age, a Citroën DS (translated as Goddess) remains one of the world’s most beautiful vehicles – the Rolls-Royce of French luxury cars. The decision to launch a dedicated DS brand a decade ago initially promised much, though in truth, there are no goddesses in the current range of mildly modified Citroëns. The DS brand carries little weight in the US (though it’s well-established in South America), and it’s easy to mistake today’s unremarkable range of sedans, SUVs, and hatchbacks for its parent company’s vehicles.

Alpine

As DS is to Citroen, Alpine is to Renault – a former model name spun out as a standalone marque within the last decade. Unlike DS, Alpine has a proud motorsport heritage – named after the twisting Alpine roads cherished by founder Jean Rédélé. Alpine won the World Rally Championship in 1973 and entered Formula 1 in 2021 under parent company Renault’s tutelage. Road-going vehicles range from EV city cars to the blistering A110R sports car.

AIXAM

While it wouldn’t make a list of the most popular car brands in France, AIXAM nonetheless deserves mention. Over the last 40 years, it has quietly gone about building an array of tiny city cars, which are classed as electric quadricycles to enable license-free motoring. Optimized for the cramped alleys found throughout historic French cities, AIXAMs are modern-day descendants of the Renault 4 and Citroen 2CV – affordable little runarounds placing minimal obstacles in the path of ownership.

Ligier

The third marque in this list with a motorsport heritage, Ligier competed in Formula 1 for twenty years. Founded by Guy Ligier in 1930, the marque continues today as a car and minibus manufacturer, though the tiny JS50 is a long way from the bewinged F1 cars of Seventies and Eighties folklore. Launched in 2023, the electric Ligier Myli 4 generates just eight horsepower, is classed as an electric quadricycle, and travels less than 40 miles on a full charge.

PGO

Achieving the unlikely feat of making Ligier seem mainstream by comparison, niche sports car manufacturer PGO may have hitherto traveled below your automotive radar. Founded by three brothers (Patrick, Gilles and Olivier, hence the name), PGO began as a replica manufacturer before developing its own models, including the Cévennes – a cheeky homage to Porsche’s 356 convertible, triggering a copyright action which Porsche eventually lost. Mechanicals are sourced from the PSA Peugeot-Citroen family, making PGO’s retro-chic models as reliable as they are head-turning.

SA Genty Automobile

Our list of French car brands concludes with the most obscure name of them all. Only 25 Genty models have been made since manufacturing began in 2017 – all either coupe or roadster versions of the McLaren-esque Akylone sports car. With its gullwing doors and clamshell hood/trunk, it looks more dramatic with its body open than closed, though its swooping lines are gorgeous from any angle. Power ranges from 1,200hp in gas models to 1,430hp in the electric Akylone.

Frequently asked questions about French cars