Panhard et Levassor

Panhard et Levassor was a French automobile manufacturer founded in 1887 in Paris by Rene Panhard, Emile Levassor and the Belgian lawyer Edouard Sarazin. Building its first car in 1890 under a Daimler engine license, the company became one of the earliest automobile manufacturers and pioneered the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout that became a standard automotive configuration, as well as the Panhard rod suspension component still used in vehicles today. Panhard et Levassor's early racing successes helped establish it as one of the largest and most profitable automobile manufacturers in the years before the First World War. Its civilian passenger car division was absorbed by Citroen in 1967, while its military vehicle operations continued under later ownership, building light tactical and armored vehicles. In 2018 Panhard was combined with Renault Trucks Defense and ACMAT under a single brand, Arquus, now part of the Volvo Group.