of the Peugeot 202 in October 1947, nearly a year before the 203 could be offered for sale. There seems to have been a good deal of pent-up demand by the time the 203 was actually launched, and the practicality, price and reliability of the car wooed many motorists. 200 were coming off the production line each day by 1950, and that year the 203 achieved 34,012 domestic sales, commanding 19.5% of the French auto-market, where it was second only to the (far smaller and cheaper) Renault 4CV in terms of unit sales. Home market success was followed by the export of 203s, notably to West Germany. Six years into its production run a growing body of data on second-hand sales became available. In early 1954 it was noted that in France the 203 lost value more slowly than any other French car generally available, thanks to a combination of virtues including a reliable, economical engine, well judged equipment levels including the sun roof, good manoeuvrability helped by an unusually tight turning circle (possible because of its "old-fashioned" rear-wheel drive lay-out), and not withstanding a rather unfriendly gear box which during the summer of 1954 would be replaced by Peugeot's new all-synchromesh "C2" transmission. The strongest domestic manufacturers in the 1950s were Citroën and Renault who in the ten years after 1945 concentrated on different areas of the market from Peugeot. The success of the 203 was therefore a tribute both to the excellence of the product and to the absence from its sector, in its early years, of mainstream competitors. A powerful mainstream competitor appeared in 1951 with the launch of the Simca Aronde, but with the post-war economy finally beginning to experience useful growth there seems to have been ample capacity in the market for both cars. By 1955 when Panhard gained access to the Citroën dealership network, the 203 was well established in the market place and Peugeot themselves had moved beyond their one model policy. The 203 nevertheless continued to sell well till the end of the decade. The end The final Peugeot 203 rolled off the production line at the Peugeot Sochaux plant on Thursday, 25 February 1960. Three months later, at the end of May, the model disappeared from the price lists. A month after the production of the last 203, Peugeot launched the 403-sept which was a version of their larger newer 403