A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily fragile, but satisfactory wheels by a separate trade, a wheelwright, held together by iron or steel

tyres A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

, was always most critical.
From about AD 1000 rough vehicle construction was carried out by a ''wainwright'', a wagon-builder. Later names include ''cartwright'' (a carpenter who makes carts, from 1587); ''coachwright''; and ''coachmaker'' (from 1599). Subtrades include ''wheelwright'', ''coachjoiner'', etc. The word ''coachbuilder'' first appeared in 1794. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2011 Coachwork is the body of an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

horse-drawn carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

, or

railway carriage A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

. The word "coach" was derived from the Hungarian town of

Kocs Kocs () is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. It lies west of Tata and north-west of Budapest. A site of horse-drawn vehicle manufacture from the 1400s, the name is the source of the word ''coach'' and its equivalent in other lan ...

. Coachbuilt body is the British English name for the coachbuilder's product. ''Custom body'' is the standard term in

North American English North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety (linguistics), variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pron ...

. "Coachbuilt body" is also the British English name for mass-produced vehicles built on assembly lines using the same but simplified techniques until more durable all-steel bodies replaced them in the early 1950s. Prior to the popularization of

unibody A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had ...

construction in the 1960s, there were many independent coachbuilders who built bodies on chassis provided by a manufacturer, often for luxury or sports cars. Many manufacturers such as Ferrari outsourced all bodywork to coachbuilders such as

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

. Coachbuilders also made custom bodies for individual customers.The coachbuilder craftsmen who might once have built bespoke or custom bodies continue to build bodies for short runs of specialized commercial vehicles such as luxury motor coaches or

recreational vehicles A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...

or motor-home bodied upon a rolling chassis provided by an independent manufacturer. A 'conversion' is built inside an existing vehicle body.

Horse-drawn origins

A British trade association the

Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers The Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. An organisation of Coachmakers and Wheelwrights petitioned for incorporation in 1630. The petition was granted almost fifty yea ...

was incorporated in 1630. Some British coachmaking firms operating in the 20th century were established even earlier. Rippon was active in the time of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

Barker Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...

founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards.

Brewster Brewster may refer to: People * Brewster (surname) *Brewster Kahle (born 1960), American computer technologist *Brewster H. Shaw (born 1945), American astronaut Places * Brewster Park (Enniskillen), Northern Ireland *Brewster (crater), The Moon ...

, the oldest in the U.S., was formed in 1810. Coach-building had reached a high degree of specialization in Britain by the middle of the 19th century. Separate branches of the trade dealt with the timber, iron, leather, brass and other materials used in their construction. And there were many minor specialists with each of these categories. The “body-makers” produced the body or vehicle itself, while the “carriage-makers” made the stronger timbers beneath and around the body. The timbers used included ash, beech, elm, oak, mahogany, cedar, pine, birch and larch. The tools and processes used were similar to those used in cabinet-making, plus other specific to coach-making. Making the curved woodwork alone called for considerable skill. Making the iron axles, springs and other metal used was the work of the “coach-smith,” one of the most highly paid classes of London workmen. The coating of the interior of the coach with leather and painting, trimming, and decorating the exterior called for specialist tradesmen with a high degree of skill. Building carts and wagons required similar skills, but of a coarser kind.

Automobiles

From the beginning of the automobile industry manufacturers offered complete cars assembled in their own factories commonly using entire bodies made by specialist people using different skills. Soon after the start of the twentieth century mass production coachbuilders developed such as Mulliners or Pressed Steel in Great Britain,

Fisher Body Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. A division of General Motors for many years, in 1984 it was dissolved to form other General Motors divisions. Fisher & Company (originally All ...

Budd Budd may refer to: People * Budd (given name) * Budd (surname) Places * Budd Coast, Wilkes Land, Antarctica * Budd Creek, California * Budd Peak (Enderby Land), Antarctica * Budd Peak (Heard Island), Indian Ocean ** Budd Pass * Budd Inlet, a ...

, Briggs in the U. S., or

Ambi-Budd Ambi-Budd was a German automobile body company founded by Edward Gowen Budd In Germany, Edward Gowen Budd worked with Arthur Müller and set up a steel pressing plant ''Ambi Budd Presswerke'' (ABP) in the old Rumpler factory and became a successf ...

in Germany. Many other big businesses remain involved. Austin 7 Swallow at Coventry Motor Museum

Specialist market sector

There remained a market for bodies to fit low production, short-run and luxury cars. Custom or bespoke bodies were made and fitted to another manufacturer's

rolling chassis A rolling chassis is the chassis without bodywork of a motor vehicle (car, truck, bus, or other vehicle), assembled with suspension and wheels. Heavy vehicles Separate chassis remain in use for almost all heavy vehicles ranging from pickup truc ...

by the craftsmen who had previously built bodies for horse-drawn carriages. Bespoke bodies are made of hand-shaped sheet metal, often aluminum alloy. Pressed or hand-shaped the metal panels were fastened to a wooden frame of particularly light but strong types of wood. Later many of the more important structural features of the bespoke or custom body such as A, B and C pillars were cast alloy components. Some bodies such as those entirely alloy bodies fitted to some

Pierce-Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial truck ...

cars contained little or no wood, and were mounted on a conventional steel chassis. Bugatti Type 57 chassis

The car manufacturer would offer for sale a chassis frame,

drivetrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components ...

(consisting of an engine, gearbox, differential, axles, and wheels), brakes, suspension, steering system, lighting system, spare wheel(s), front and rear mudguards (vulnerable and so made of pressed steel for strength and easy repair) and (later) bumpers, scuttle (firewall) and

dashboard For business applications, see Dashboard (business). A dashboard (also called dash, instrument panel (IP), or fascia) is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle or small aircraft. Usually located directly ahead of the driv ...

. The very easily damaged

honeycomb radiator A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...

, later enclosed and protected by a shell or even reduced to an air intake, was or held the visual element identifying the chassis' brand. To let car manufacturers maintain some level of control over the final product their warranties could be voided if coachbuilders fitted unapproved bodies. As well as bespoke bodies the same coachbuilders also made short runs of more-or-less identical bodies to the order of dealers or the manufacturer of a chassis. The same body design might then be adjusted to suit different brands of chassis. Examples include Salmons & Sons' ''Tickford'' bodies with a patent device to raise or lower a convertible's roof, first used on their 19th-century carriages, or ''Wingham'' convertible bodies by Martin Walter.

Obsolescence

Separate coachbuilt bodies became obsolete when vehicle manufacturers found they could no longer meet their customers' demands by relying on a simple separate chassis (on which a custom or bespoke body could be built) mounted on

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, ...

s on

beam axle A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have als ...

Unibody A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had ...

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

combined chassis and body structures became standardised during the middle years of the 20th century to provide the rigidity required by improved suspension systems without incurring the heavy weight, and consequent fuel penalty of a truly rigid separate chassis. The improved more supple suspension systems gave vehicles better road-holding and much improved the ride experienced by passengers.

Ultra-luxury vehicles

1920 Editing Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 French Owner's Manual Chassis

Larger car dealers or distributors would commonly preorder stock chassis and the bodies they thought most likely to sell and order them for sale off their showroom floor. All luxury vehicles during the automobile's Golden Era before World War II were available as chassis only. For example, when

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight- ...

introduced their Model J, it was offered as chassis only, for $8,500. Other examples include the

Bugatti Type 57 The Bugatti Type 57 and later variants (including the famous Atlantic and Atalante) was a grand tourer car built from 1934 through 1940. It was an entirely new design created by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore. A total of 710 Type 57s were ...

Cadillac V-16 The Cadillac V-16 (also known as the Cadillac Sixteen) was Cadillac's top-of-the-line model from its January 1930 launch until 1940. The V16 powered car was a first in the United States, both extremely expensive and exclusive, with every chassis ...

Packard Twelve The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the ma ...

Ferrari 250 The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are char ...

Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 is an Italian luxury car made between 1919 and 1924. History The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 is an automobile introduced in 1919 by Isotta Fraschini, a company which underwent a complete change after World War I. Unt ...

, Hispano-Suiza J12, and all

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...

s produced before World War II. Delahaye had no in-house coachworks, so all its chassis were bodied by independents, who created their designs on the Type 135. For the

Delahaye Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The comp ...

, most were bodied by

Chapron Henri Chapron (30 December 1886 - 14 May 1978) was a prominent French automobile coachbuilder. His carrosserie, created in 1919, was located in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. Chapron was born in Nouan-le-Fuzelier (Sologne), and began his c ...

, Labourdette,

Franay Franay was a French coachbuilder of renown operating at Levallois-Perret, a suburb on the prosperous north-western edge of Paris. The company was founded in 1903 by Jean-Baptiste Franay, a carriage upholsterer, following an apprenticeship with Bi ...

Saoutchik Founded by cabinet maker Jacques Saoutchik (born Iakov Savtchuk in Russian Empire in 1880), Saoutchik was a French coachbuilding company founded in 1906. In the 1930s, the company became well known for their often extravagant automobile designs ...

Figoni et Falaschi Figoni et Falaschi is a French luxury brand and coachbuilder firm which was active from 1935 through to the 1950s. The designs were created by Giuseppe Figoni, while his partner Ovidio Falaschi ran the business. Early history: Figoni Giuseppe ...

, or Pennock. The practice continued after World War II waning dramatically in the 1950s and 1960s. Rolls-Royce debuted its first

model, their Silver Shadow, in 1965.

Unibody construction

Independent coachbuilders survived for a time after the mid-20th century, making bodies for the chassis produced by low-production companies such as

, Ferrari, and

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, Nort ...

. Producing body dies is extremely expensive (a single door die can run to

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

40,000), which is usually only considered practical when large numbers are involved—though that was the path taken by Rolls-Royce and Bentley after 1945 for their own in-house production. Because dies for pressing metal panels are so costly, from the mid 20th century, many vehicles, most notably the

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

, were clothed with large panels of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

-reinforced resin, which only require inexpensive molds. Glass has since been replaced by more sophisticated materials, if necessary hand-formed. Generally, these replace metal only where weight is of paramount importance. The advent of

construction, where the car body is unified with and structurally integral to the chassis, made custom coachbuilding uneconomic. Many coachbuilders closed down, were bought by manufacturers, or changed their core business to other activities: *Transforming into dedicated design or styling houses, subcontracting to automotive brands (e.g.

Zagato Zagato is an independent Coachbuilder, coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ...

, Frua, Bertone,

) *Transforming into general coachwork series manufacturers, subcontracting to automotive brands (e.g.

Karmann Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, commonly known as simply Karmann, was a German automobile manufacturer and contract manufacturer based in Osnabrück. Founded by Wilhelm Karmann in 1901, the company specialized in a variety of automotive roles, includi ...

, Bertone,

Vignale Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

) *Manufacturing runs of special coachworks for trucks, delivery vans, touring cars, ambulances, fire engines, public transport vehicles, etc. (e.g., Pennock,

Van Hool Van Hool NV () is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers. Most of the buses and coaches are built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummi ...

Plaxton Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manuf ...

Heuliez Heuliez was a French company that worked as a production and design unit for various automakers. It specialized in producing short series for niche markets, such as convertibles or station-wagons. The business activity ended on 31 October 2013. ...

) *Becoming technical partners for the development of roof constructions (e.g.,

), for example, or producers of various (aftermarket) automotive parts (e.g.,

Giannini Giannini is a Brazilian musical instruments manufacturing company, based in Salto, São Paulo. Products currently manufactured by Giannini include electric, steel-string acoustic, nylon-string acoustic and bass guitars. Other string instrum ...

)

Gallery

File:Lancia Belna Cabriolet 1935 Pourtout.jpg, Pourtout drophead coupé on a Lancia Belna chassis 1935 File:Coys vintage car 501593 fh000035.jpg, Touring 2-seater body on a 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B chassis File:Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Ghia.jpg, Fixed head coupé by

Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, ...

1954 on an

Alfa Romeo 1900 The Alfa Romeo 1900 is an automobile produced by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1950 until 1959. Designed by Orazio Satta, it was an important development for Alfa Romeo as the marque's first car built entirely on a production line and f ...

SS chassis File:VW Hebmüller-Cabriolet bicolor vl TCE.jpg, Hebmüller Cabriolet modifications upon a mass-produced Volkswagen platform chassis

List of coachbuilders

Austria

*Ambruster *Keibl

Belgium

D'Ieteren D'Ieteren SA () is a company, based in Belgium that is engaged in automobile distribution and vehicle glass repair and replacement (VGRR). Activities D'Ieteren is a group of services to the motorist, founded in 1805. D'Ieteren Auto distrib ...

*Grümmer (Bruxelles) *Simons *

Vanden Plas Vanden Plas is the name of coachbuilders who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group, ...

Denmark

* Carsten Jakobsen

France

*Achard, Fontanel & Cie (

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

) *Ailloud & Dumond (

) *Alin & Liautard (

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

) * Amiot (

Dinard Dinard (; br, Dinarzh, ; Gallo: ''Dinard'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, northwestern France. Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a holiday destination, and th ...

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead o ...

) *Angé (

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

) *Ansart & Teisseire (

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name ''Nobilis'' or '' Novellius''. It may refer to:Adrian Room, ''Placenames of the World'' (2006), p. 265. References

{{SIA ...

) * Antem ( Levallois) *Arnault (

Garches Garches () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, but is also the location of Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, which specialises in traumat ...

) *Arqué (Toulouse) *Aubertin (

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...

) *Paul Audineau (Levallois) *Augereau (

Brou Brou may refer to: * Brou, Eure-et-Loir, a village and ''commune'' in France * Brou-sur-Chantereine, a village and ''commune'' in Seine-et-Marne, France * Brou people, a Khmer Loeu ethnic group in Cambodia See also * Royal Monastery of Brou, in Bo ...

) * Autobineau (

{{SIA ...

) *Bail (Paris) *Baqué (

) *Barbier (

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

) *Bedel (

Trouville-sur-mer Trouville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Trouville on Sea''), commonly referred to as Trouville, is a city of 4,603 inhabitants in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Trouville-sur-Mer borders Deauville across the ...

) *Belvallette (Paris, Neuilly) *Bergeon & Descoins (

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

) *Berlioz & Gouillon (Paris) *Berluteau (

Melun Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilome ...

) *Bernin (

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metr ...

) *Besset (

Annonay Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...

) *Bigatti (

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

) *Billeter & Cartier (

) * Binder (

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) *Blanc & Barral (Paris) *Blesser (Paris) *Blois (Toulouse) *Boneberge (Lyon) *Bonneville & Chabrol (

) *Gustave Borde (

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earl ...

) *Boré (

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

) *Boschet (

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6t ...

) *Bounet (Toulouse) *Bouteiller (

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabit ...

) *Brandone (

) *Bruand (

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the Cô ...

) *Henri Bretonniere (

, Brittany) *Gratien Calmettes (

) *Candelaresi (

) *Carrier (

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is fi ...

) *Chabrol (Toulouse) *Candelarési (Lyon) *Carde & fils (

) * Chappe et Gessalin, (

Brie-Comte-Robert Brie-Comte-Robert () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Brie-Comte-Robert is on the edge of the plain of Brie and was formerly the capital of the ''Brie française''. "Brie" ...

) *

(Levallois-Perret) * Philippe Charbonneaux *Chatellard (Toulouse) *Chaussende (Lyon) * Chausson ( Asnières,

Gennevilliers Gennevilliers () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 46,907. History On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the ...

) *Chéreau (

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period ...

) *Chicot (Levallois) *Chilbourg (Paris) *Clabot (

Alfortville Alfortville () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History The commune of Alfortville was created on 1 April 1885 from part of the commune of Mais ...

) *Clochez (Paris) *Cluzeau ( Bergerac) *Cottard (

Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient province of Bresse ( frp, Brêsse, links=no). In 2018, th ...

) *Crouzier frères ( Moulins) * Currus (Paris) *

Darl'mat Émile Darl'mat (1892–1970) was the creator and owner of a Peugeot distributor with a car body business established at the rue de l'Université in Paris in 1923. In the 1930s the firm gained prominence as a low volume manufacturer of Peugeot- ...

(Paris) *Declerq & Cordonnier (

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th centur ...

) *DeCostier (Boulogne s/Seine) *Decultil & Cie (Lyon) *Victor Delassale (Paris) *Delaroche & Turquet (

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

) *Delaugère (

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Pantin Pantin () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plai ...

) *Desvaux (

Rueil Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Par ...

) *Di Rosa (

La Garenne-Colombes La Garenne-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from Notre Dame de Paris which is the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Name The city used to be p ...

) *Drouet & Gaucher (Courbevoie) *Maurice Dumas (

) *Louis Dubos (Neuilly) *Dubos (

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting th ...

) *Duhamel et Compagnie (Paris) *Duvivier (Levallois-Perret) *Ehrler (Paris) *Ehmgard et Delbenque (Paris) *Esclassan – Tôlerie automobile et industrielle (Boulogne s/Seine) * Facel-Métallon (

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Gra ...

) *Faget & Varnet (Levallois) *Faurax (Paris since 1808, later

) *Faurax & Chaussende (since 1920, Lyon) *Felber frères (Puteaux) * Fernandez & Darrin (Paris) *

(Boulogne s/Seine) *Firmin (Paris) *Fleury ( Thonon) *Floquet (Saint-Amand) *Forrler ( Strasbourg) *Fournier (

) *Fournier (

Suresnes Suresnes () is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmais ...

) *

(Levallois-Perret) *Frugier (Toulouse, Limoges) * Gallé (Boulogne s/Seine) *Gangloff (

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...

) *Garros (Toulouse) *Gaudichet & Turquet (

) *Henri Gauthier (

Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; frp, Velorbana) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after ...

, Beaulieu-Audincourt) *Gilotte (Courbevoie) *Girardo frères (

) *Grange frères (Valence-sur-Rhône) *Gras (

) *Gruau ( Laval) *Grümmer (Clichy) *Guérard (

) *Guetting (Paris) * Guilloré (Courbevoie) *Guilloux ( Châlon-sur-Saone) *Guldener (

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

) *Hamet (

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

) *Léon Hanovre (Paris) *Hénon (

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

) *Henry ( Nancy) *

(

Cerizay Cerizay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Deux-Sèvres Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western France. History The name ''Cerizay'' probably originated during the Gallo-Roman, clos ...

) *

Hibbard & Darrin Carrosserie Hibbard et Darrin was a French coachbuilder which operated from 12 Rue de Berri, 75008, Paris, just off the Champs-Élysées. Owned by two Americans, Hibbard and Darrin it built bodies for the most luxurious chassis. Hibbard and Dietric ...

(Paris) *Jamet (La Guerche,

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

) *Jeanteaud (

) *L. Jean (

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

) *Jouan, carrosserie de cuirs ( Clichy) *Jousse & Parsy (

Montargis Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry and farming, i ...

) *Justrobe (Toulouse) *

Kellner Kellner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ádám Kellner (born 1986), Hungarian tennis player * Alex Kellner (1924–1996), baseball pitcher * Alexander Kellner (born 1961), Brazilian paleontologist * Birgit Kellner, Austri ...

(Paris) *

Kelsch Kelsch is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Mose Kelsch (1897–1935), American football player * RaeAnn Kelsch (1960–2018), American politician * Walter Kelsch (born 1955), German football player {{surname ...

(Levallois) *Klapper (Toulouse) *Kraemers fils (Paris) *Labarre ( Evreux) *Labbé (

Lamballe Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east- ...

) *Henri Labourdette (Paris) *La Carrosserie Industrielle (

) *Lacoste frères (Toulouse) *Lagache & Glaszmann (

Montrouge Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years. ...

) *Lagogué (

) *Lamplugh & Cie (Levallois-Perret) *Langütt (Besançon) *Laporte (Toulouse) *Le Bastard (Rouen) *Leffondré (Groslay) *Letourneur et Marchand (Neuilly) *Le Vieux (Paris) *Lourtioux (Montluçon) *Mamy (Besançon) *Mandement (Toulouse) *Manessius (Puteaux) *Maron-Pot (Levallois-Perret) *Massias (Toulouse) *Mercier (

) *Meulemeester (Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, Clichy) *Michel (

) *Mignot & Billebault (Boulogne s/Seine) *Million Guiet (Levallois) *Léon Molon (Le Havre) *Mouche & Cie (

) *Monjardet (Besançon) *Montel & fils (

) *Morel (Paris) *Morin (Parthenay) *Morin (Rennes) *Mühlbacher & fils (Puteaux) *Nicolas (Angoulême) *Ottin (

) *Philippe Mühlbacher (

) *Pelpel (Noyal s/Vilaine) *Petitprez & Verschure (Tourcoing) *Pezet (Toulouse) *Phaetonia (

) *Société Phocéenne (

) *Pichon-Parat (Sens) *Henri Pique (

) *Plante (Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau) *Poinsenet (Epernay) *Pourtout (Rueil-Malmaison) *Pralavorio Simon (

Montplaisir) *Privat (

) *Maurice Proux (

) *Pruneville (

) *Radovitch (Reims) *Rambert & fils (Clermont-Ferrand,

) *Raquin (Montrichard) *Rasp (Paris) *Ravistre & Martel (

) *Repusseau & Cie (Levallois-Perret) *Rétif (Sancoins,

) *Rheims & Auscher, La Carrosserie Industrielle (Levallois-Perret) *Rieucros (Cognac) *Georges Rigier (Neuilly) *Alexis Robert (Paris) *Rothschild, later Rheims & Aucher (Levallois-Perret) *Rotrou (Verneuil sur Avre) *Rousseau (

) *Rungette (Levallois-Perret) *

(Neuilly) *Soulé (Toulouse) *Spinnewyn (Tourcoing) *Surirey (Flers) *Tassé (Pontchâteau) *Benjamin Thibaut (Toulouse) *Baptiste Thomas (1820–1877, Paris) *Tirbois (Niort) *Tizot & Viguier (

) *Tremble (

) *Tual (Tredion) *Vallas (St-Just en Chevalet) *Van den Bussche (

) *Van den Hende (

) *Carrosserie Vanvooren, Vanvooren (Courbevoie) *Vedrine & Cie (Courbevoie) *Verplancke (

) *Veuillet (Fleurieu-sur-Seine) *Vidal (Toulouse) *de Villars (Courbevoie) *Vilotte (Toulouse) *Vinet (Neuilly) *Visse & Haf (Levallois) *Vivez (

) *VOG (Chartres, Neuilly) *Wanaverbecq (Lambersart) *Wantz (Meaux) *Warengehm (

) *Weymann Fabric Bodies, Weymann (

) *Widerkehr (

) *Willy van den Plas (Paris,

)

Germany

*Auer *Autenrieth *Karosserie Baur, Baur *Binz (vehicles), Binz *Buhne *Karl Deutsch GmbH, Deutsch *Dörr & Schreck *Drauz *Erdmann & Rossi *Friederich *Gläser-Karosserie, Gläser *Glüer *Grümmer (Aachen) *Hebmüller *Ihle *Karl Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke, Kässbohrer *

*Kathe *Keinath *

*Konigsberg *Kruse (Husum) *Kühlstein *Kühn *Johann Michael Mayer (München) *Mengelbier (Aachen) *Neoplan *Neuss *Nowack *Papler *Plenikowski (Hartha) *Rembrandt *Reutter *Rometsch *Setra *Spohn *Styling Garage *Szase *Voll & Ruhrbeck *Weinberger, Karl *Weinberger, Ludwig *Weinsberg *Wendler

Indonesia

*Adi Putro *Laksana (coachbuilder), Laksana *Morodadi Prima *New Armada *Tentrem

Italy

* *Carrozzeria Allemano, Allemano * Bertone *Bizzarrini *Felice Mario Boano, Boano *Carrozzeria Boneschi, Boneschi *Carrozzeria Castagna, Castagna *Cecomp *Sergio Coggiola, Coggiola *Carrozzeria Colli, Colli *De Simon *Stabilimenti Farina, Farina *Carrozzeria Fissore, Fissore * Frua *Carrozzeria Garavini, Garavini *

*Giorgetto Giugiaro, Giugiaro *I.DE.A Institute, I.DE.A *Italdesign Giugiaro, Italdesign *Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi, Lombardi *Maggiora (manufacturer), Maggiora *Carrozzeria Marazzi, Marazzi *Manifattura Automobili Torino, MAT *Morelli (company), Morelli *Rocco Motto, Motto *Neri and Bonacini, Nembo *Officine Stampaggi Industriali, OSI *

*Cesare Sala, Sala *Carrozzeria Scaglietti, Scaglietti *Carrozzeria Sports Cars, Sports Cars (Drogo) *Studiotorino * Touring *Carrozzeria Varesina, Varesina *

Vignale Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Zagato Zagato is an independent Coachbuilder, coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ...

Japan

*Mitsuoka

Spain

*Abadal *Ayats *Bettla *Blancou *Capella *Carrizo *J Farré *Forcada *Fiol *Galo Mateos *Herrero *Hijos de Labourdette *Irizar *Lucas Industries, Lucas *Molist *Reynés *Roqueta *Serra *Vert *Vidal

Sweden

*Hoflageribolaget *Nordberg *Norrmalm

Switzerland

*Beutler *Gangloff *Geismeister *Graber *Graber, Hermann Graber *Carrosserie Worblaufen, Ramseier *Carrosserie Worblaufen, Worblaufen

The Netherlands

*Akkermans *Bronkhorst *Bij 't Vuur *Dolk *Donderwinkel *Egbers *Garstman *Gips & Jacobs *Hermans *Hover & Tiwi *Hulsman *Jac Met *Kimman *Lathouwers *Van Leersum & Co *De Ley *Van Lijf & Co *Mudde *Muller *Mijnhardt *N.A.M. (Nederlandsche Auto-Maatschappij) *Nederlandsche Carrosseriefabrieken *Oostwoud *Pennock *Van Rijswijk & Zoon *Roos *Schutter & van Bakel *Smulders *Soudijn *Spyker *Jean Stegen *Teulings *W J Van Trigt & Zoon *Vandenbrink Design *Verheul *Veth & Zoon

United Kingdom

*Abbey (coachbuilder), Abbey *E. D. Abbott Ltd, Abbott *Alexander Dennis (formerly Walter Alexander Coachbuilders) *Aston Martin *Barker (coachbuilder), Barker *Carbodies *Carlton Carriage Company, Carlton *Crayford Engineering *Charlesworth Bodies, Charlesworth *Corsica Coachworks, Corsica *John Croall & Sons Edinburgh, Croall *Cunard (coachbuilder), Cunard *Gordon England (coachbuilder), Gordon England *Flewitt *Freestone and Webb *Grose *J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited, J Gurney Nutting & Co *Thomas Harrington Ltd, Harrington *John Hatchett (London) *Holmes (London) *Hooper (coachbuilder), Hooper *Jarvis of Wimbledon *Jensen Motors, Jensen *John Charles *Chalmer & Hoyer, Hoyal *Lancefield Coachworks, Lancefield * Martin Walter *Arthur Mulliner *H. J. Mulliner & Co. *Mulliner Park Ward *Mulliners (Birmingham) *Nu-Track *Optare *Park Ward *Harold Radford *Rippon Bros *Salmons and Son, Salmons *Swallow Sidecar Company, Swallow *Tickford *Thrupp & Maberly *

*Vince & Son *Walter Alexander Coachbuilders *Wesleys Newport Pagnell *William Vincent Ltd. (coachbuilders), Vincent of Reading *Windovers *Abbey (coachbuilder), Wingham Martin Walter *Wrightbus *James Young (coachbuilder), James Young

United States

*Alex Madjaric Body Works *Abbot-Downing Company, Abbot-Downing *Biddle and Smart (Amesbury) *Bohman & Schwartz *

* Briggs *Brunn & Company, Brunn *

*Coachcraft *Darrin of Paris *Demarest *Derham Body Company, Derham *Dietrich Inc. *Harley Earl, Earl Automobile Works *Fisher Body, Fisher *Albert Fisher (Detroit) *Fleetwood Metal Body, Fleetwood *Holbrook Company, Holbrook *John B. Judkins Company, Judkins *KEM Motorworks *LeBaron Incorporated, LeBaron *Locke *Walter M Murphy Company, Murphy *Murray Corporation of America, Murray *Rollston#Rollson Inc, Rollson *Rollston *Rubay *Studebaker *Towson *Walker Body Company, Walker *Waterhouse Company, Waterhouse *Widman *Willoughby Company, Willoughby *Wilson Body Company, Wilson

Survivors of the unibody production-line system

*Coway *Jankel *Jubilee *MacNeillie *Overfinch *Wilcox *Woodall-Nicholson

Notes

References

External links

Coachbuild.com: Encyclopedia of worldwide Coachbuilders from past to presentEncyclopedia of American CoachbuildersGoldarths: The Fine Art of Coachbuilding
by Peter M. Larsen and Ben Erickson. Details Jacques Kellner and George Paulin involvement in the French Resistance. {{Authority control Coachbuilders,