Ligier History

The French manufacturer Ligier was founded by Guy Ligier, a former racing driver, in 1968. His son, Phillipe Ligier remains CEO of the company to this day. Ligier is known for the period it spent competing in motor sports, but it has also become a major producer of microcars, which are the company's main focus today.

The first Ligier model was the JS2. The JS2 was a sports car that was designed for use on the roads. It shared the same Maserati V6 engine as was used in the Citroen SM, and it was very well-received. This model was particularly praised for its power to weight ratio. This early success for the Ligier brand seemed to bode well for the future of the company, but unfortunately, events in the global energy market meant that Ligier, along with many other automobile manufacturers, were faced with difficult times.

In 1973, the energy crisis created some serious financial problems for Ligier and the decline in sales of the JS2 was so significant that Ligier was forced to bring about the end of its production. Ligier turned instead to the production of microcars, including the 1984 Ligier model, the JS6. These cars were much smaller and required a lot less fuel that the JS2.

Piaggio, the Italian scooter and motorcycle manufacturer, took over the Ligier Car Company. Piaggio is still in control of the Ligier brand today, although the Ligier family remains involved in the company.

Between 1976 and 1996, Ligier has its own Formula One team, Equipe Ligier, for which it is very well-known. Many people are familiar with the Ligier name solely from its racing activities, rather than as a car manufacturer. Driver Jacques Laffite won a Grand Prix for Ligier in 1977. Ligier cars also competed in the Le Mans 24 hours race between 1970 and 1975.

In 1977,Ligier introduced the JS11 sports car, which had a powerful Cosworth engine. However, its competitors Ferrari and Williams had their own improved, aerodynamic cars, and during the 1980s, the Ligier team failed to repeat its Formula One victory. Ligier remained an important competitor in motor sports throughout this decade, however, and partnered with firms such as Renault, Alfa Romeo, BMW and Mugen Honda. Ligier withdrew from racing in1996 due to difficulties facing increasing competition, both in motor sports and in business, during the 1990s. The Ligier racing team was sold to Alain Prost, who renamed it Post Grand Prix. The Prost team went bankrupt in 2002, despite backing from many large French companies.

Meanwhile, the Ligier company was focusing on producing microcars. Ligier purchased the Microcar division of the Beneteau Group in 2008. It is expected that the Microcar brand will remain separate from the Ligier name, with each brand retaining its own image and being produced in separate plants. Following the merger, the combined brand has become the second largest manufacturer of microcars in Europe. The Smart unit at Daimler remains in the lead in this sector. Ligier has become the largest manufacturer of vehicles which are exempt from the requirement for a driving license, however.