Chrysler Europe struggled to enter profitability for much of its existence, and had relied on government support to ensure its survival. With mounting pressure on its core North American business, the decision was taken by Chrysler's then CEO
Lee Iacocca to offload the ailing European operations. The French Government persuaded both
Renault and
PSA Peugeot Citroën to bid for the company; as it was keen to keep Simca in domestic ownership. In August 1978, PSA negotiated a deal with Chrysler to acquire
Chrysler Europe for a nominal $1. Although PSA took responsibility for Chrysler Europe's considerable debts and liabilities, the move was a strategic one; acquiring Simca would remove a strong domestic competitor in the French market while gaining access to that company's expertise in small front wheel drive cars; while at the same time the old Rootes operations would give the company a stronger foothold in the United Kingdom – France's biggest export market where both Peugeot and Citroën lagged behind arch rival
Renault. PSA formally took control of the old Chrysler Europe on 1 January 1979. To lead the new group, former
British Leyland executive
George Turnbull (who had just completed his secondment at
Hyundai), was appointed as the managing director of the UK arm. The Peugeot takeover saw the end of the Rootes'
Chrysler Hunter production, but the
Chrysler Avenger and
Sunbeam (also both Rootes designs), and the
Simca 1307 (Chrysler Alpine in UK), and
Horizon continued rebadged as Talbots. All former Chrysler products registered in Britain after 1 August 1979 bore the Talbot badge. Talbot's UK branch manufactured the
Alpine,
Solara, and
Horizon at its aging
Ryton plant in
Coventry, after the British-developed cars had all been retired, except for the largest revenue source of the UK arm at that time, building
CKD kits of the Hillman Hunter to be sent to
Iran where they were assembled as the
Peykan. The last remaining car produced by the Rootes group, the Chrysler (previously
Hillman)
Avenger, remained in production as a Talbot until the end of 1981; production of the Avenger-derived
Talbot Sunbeam also ended in 1981. The entry-level model in the Talbot range from December 1981 onwards was the
Talbot Samba, a three-door hatchback based on the Peugeot 104. In 1981, Peugeot began producing the
Talbot Tagora, a boxy four-door saloon marketed as a rival to the
Ford Granada and to the
Vauxhall Carlton/
Opel Rekord. But as sales were insufficient in both Britain and France, production ceased in 1983 after only 19,389 units were manufactured. At the end of 1984, the Alpine hatchback and its related Solara saloon were re-badged Minx and Rapier, depending upon specification rather than body shape. The new names were inherited from the Rootes Group; Rootes had previously produced the
Hillman Minx and
Sunbeam Rapier. The new versions were produced until 1986. Former Rootes names are still revived occasionally; in 1982, there was a Talbot Solara "Sceptre" model, the name being inherited from the
Humber Sceptre which was produced between 1963 and 1976.
Decline and Demise In the UK, the Chrysler and Talbot marques had gained nearly 120,000 sales in 1979, only outsold by
Ford and
British Leyland. However, it then went into decline, not helped by the
recession in the early 1980s, or by a lack of new models being launched. By 1985, however, after years of losses, PSA Peugeot Citroën began to question its three-brand strategy. The Talbot Tagora model failed in the marketplace; the Samba was essentially a decade-old design thanks to its Peugeot 104 parentage, whilst the ageing 1510/Alpine/Solara models overlapped with both the
Citroën BX and forthcoming
Peugeot 405. At the eleventh hour, the decision was made to release the forthcoming Horizon replacement as the
Peugeot 309 instead of Talbot Arizona. It was a controversial decision, because the British arm of the company believed there was greater brand loyalty to Talbot in the UK, with its historical connection to the Rootes Group. However, the decision to concentrate on the Peugeot brand prevailed, and the 309 became the first of a long line of British-built Peugeot models to be assembled at the Ryton plant. Partly because they were perceived as "British" (despite most of their content actually being imported from PSA's French factories), the 309 and the subsequent 405, 306 and 206 models were very successful in the UK market, and regularly featured among the country's top ten best-selling cars. Around 1984, PSA had also considered launching a replacement for the Talbot Samba based on the platform of the
Citroën AX, which was still under-development, but such was the success of the
Peugeot 205 in the
supermini sector that PSA felt there was little need for a third supermini in its portfolio. It became clear however, that there was no long-term future for the Talbot brand in 1986 when PSA sold the Whitley research and development centre to
Jaguar, signalling the end of any more British-developed models. Production of the Horizon continued in Spain and Finland until 1987, marking the end of the Talbot name on passenger cars (the Samba had been discontinued in May 1986), although the
Talbot Express panel van continued in production until 1994, after which the entire Talbot marque was axed.
Talbots in the UK The Talbot Express van (along with its identical sister vehicle the
Fiat Ducato) was a popular base vehicle for
motorhomes and campervan conversions. According to the website
How Many Left?, there were fewer than 40 Alpine/Solara models, 20 Horizons, 10 Sambas and only one Tagora still registered with the British
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency, compared to well over 5,000 Talbot Express vans, the vast majority of which are
motorhomes.
Resurrection In 2008, PSA considered reintroducing Talbot to the market, targeting low-budget buyers, as Renault did with its
Dacia Logan. It was suggested that these could be models produced in China such as Talbot versions of the
Citroën Elysée and of the
Peugeot 206, but did not make a comeback as of 2012 because PSA introduced the second-generation
Citroën C-Elysée and the
Peugeot 301. The merger of
Groupe PSA and
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2021 to form Stellantis, saw the Talbot brand again exist under the same corporate umbrella as Chrysler, over 40 years after the dissolution of Chrysler Europe. == Brand logo evolution ==