By 1901 the De Dion Bouton Company was firmly established as both a successful innovator and a manufacturer of high quality engines and motor vehicles in Europe. The success of the motor tricycle at the very end of the 19th century had been followed by the launch of the voiturette, which in turn had prepared the way for the first of the front-engined vehicles that appeared in 1901. More than 100 other manufacturers, including Renault, had installed engines bought from Puteaux into their own vehicles, thus giving De Dion Bouton a pivotal role in supporting the nascent car industry. In May 1903 the single cylinder vehicles were joined by the first twin cylinder offerings, and by the end of 1904 the Company had developed 16 different models.
The range and pace of technical development dramatically accelerated from the end of 1904. Many of De Dion Bouton’s innovations with engine design, ignition systems, suspension and speed change mechanisms were well established, reliable and effective. However, they were no longer ‘cutting edge’ or fashionable, and the Company was acutely aware of the need to demonstrate a willingness to change, regardless of how difficult, expensive, and perhaps sometimes unnecessary, that might be. Whilst in 1904 the Comte de Dion was convinced that the future prosperity of the Company lay in small vehicles and trucks, within four years the decision was taken to focus on four cylinder vehicles. By 1909 margins on single engine cars had been tightly squeezed and the success of the 12hp four cylinder Type BH had persuaded the management to cease production of the 10hp twin cylinders. The four cylinder cars had various engine configurations: small cars had engines of 10/12hp; mid-sized cars were equipped with 14/18hp power units, and the top of the range vehicles had 25/30hp options, which were entirely adequate for formal landaulet coachwork. The growth of the commercial vehicle business for trucks and buses, for which the larger four cylinder engines were necessary, also offered improved economies of scale.
The economic rationale around four cylinder vehicle production was robust but competition, especially in the small and mid-sized four cylinder sectors, was fierce and the large-scale operations of some American manufacturers, notably Ford, were already depressing showroom prices. The enticing opportunity, something which the Comte de Dion generally found difficult to resist, was the launch of an eight cylinder engine, with its potential advantages of brand profile and strong margins.
Generally, the Company promoted a limited number of models every year, usually around five to seven. From 1910 to 1914 this number doubled. At the same time, there was a radical increase in the number of Type Approvals sought (from 17 in the period from 1901 to 1904 to 122 between 1905 and 1914). All 12 V-8 models for which Type Approval was sought, did go into full production, but 35 per cent of the four cylinder projects that Type Approval was granted, were abandoned.
This abundance of passenger vehicle development (88 models and 26 different engine configurations in 10 years), in addition to the commercial vehicle activity, was in stark contrast to many of their competitors, who undertook less development but sold more vehicles. By 1913 Peugeot, Renault, Darracq and Berliet were all producing more passenger vehicles in France than De Dion Bouton. The demands on management stamina and the Company’s balance sheet would inevitably take their toll at some point.
In preparation for a full pre-war history of De Dion Bouton, I have set about recording and establishing the specifications of all models produced between 1899 and 1914. The first volume appeared in Autumn 2016 and the next volume, for the period from 1905 to 1914, is due later this year.