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Three Common French Car Brands You Won’t See on American Roads

There are plenty of options for car manufacturers in America. We have US-based options like Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet, and foreign options like Nissan, BMW, Audi, and so many more. In all of the diversity, there are even newer manufacturers rising in popularity like Tesla and Kia, so it is easy to forget that there …
by Gabrielle DeSantis
Published on
2 min read

There are plenty of options for car manufacturers in America. We have US-based options like Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet, and foreign options like Nissan, BMW, Audi, and so many more. In all of the diversity, there are even newer manufacturers rising in popularity like Tesla and Kia, so it is easy to forget that there are still a lot of brands we don’t get here in the United States. In fact, there are several French options like Peugeot that are popular in Europe that you may never see on American roads.

A new Citroen Ami french all-electric urban vehicles
All-electric urban vehicle named ‘Ami’ by French carmaker Citroen | Abdulmonam Eassa, Getty Images

Renault

Renault is a popular automobile manufacturer that calls France home. It was established in 1899, but regardless of its age, most American’s wouldn’t recognize a Renault or the brand’s badging if they saw one today. In Europe, however, they are just as popular of a brand as manufacturers like Ford is here in the United States.

According to Renault of Canada, there are plenty of equivalent vehicles that match what the French brand has to offer. Once upon a time, you could buy a new Renault in the United States.

A man walks in to a Renault dealership
A Renault Espace Initiale SUV | Nathan Laine/Bloomberg, Getty Images

Citroën

The Citroën brand is another French choice that isn’t completely unfamiliar to US soil, but they are still far from common. What might surprise you is that the brand is now currently a part of Stellantis — and while the Stellantis name is still so new that most buyers may not recognize it, they might recognize some of the conglomerates more popular American-focused car brands like Fiat and Chrysler.

Because of this, there are American-equivalents of several Citroën cars here in the US, but not a directly replacement with the same badging.

Peugeot

If you’ve made it this far without realizing how many French car brands there actually are, it won’t surprise you to hear another one, called Peugeot. Like Citroën, Peugeot is also now owned by Stellantis. While you probably won’t find any modern-day cars for sale with the iconic Peugeot Lion badging, just like Citroën, there are still many American-based alternatives that give us a taste of the brand without us even realizing it.

Of course, if you’re in the market for a really old used car, you might find a genuine Peugeot hanging around, but isn’t particularly likely.

It isn’t totally impossible to see any of these cars in the US, as some variations and models were imported at some points in time, but you won’t find these French-manufactured cars on the roads new any time soon.

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MotorBiscuit Writer

Gabrielle DeSantis

Gabrielle DeSantis brings her passion for exotic European cars, automotive adventures, and car DIY to our space daily since joining our team in 2020. As an exotic car owner and rebuilder, she finds autos writing inspiration behind the wheel and under the hood of her Lotus.

Gabrielle is a graduate of Florida Tech in Interdisciplinary Sciences and is part-owner of CarFemme, a social automotive group dedicated to promoting women in the industry.