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Private company

Ballot

Logo: Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

French automobile manufacturer

Ballot was a French manufacturer, initially of engines, that also made automobiles between 1919 and 1932. Ernest Ballot became well known as a designer of reliable engines. He helped Ettore Bugatti in developing his first engines.2 It is part of Hispano-Suiza.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1905Founded1
  • Industryautomotive industry1
  • HeadquartersParis1
  • Founded inParis1
  • Legal formjoint-stock company1

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Ballot was a French manufacturer, initially of engines, that also made automobiles between 1919 and 1932. Ernest Ballot became well known as a designer of reliable engines. He helped Ettore Bugatti in developing his first engines.2

Corporate structure

Ballot is part of a group headed by Hispano-Suiza. 5 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Ernest Ballot and Julien Faivre founded their company at the Boulevard Brune in south-central Paris in 1905.Ernest Ballot's brother Albert was also involved early in the company's life. Ernest Ballot was a former naval officer, which explains the "anchor" that featured in the badges on the cars.

Before World War I the factory concentrated on marine and industrial engines, and from 1910 or 1911 they also offered automobile engines.

The company was re-founded as Etablissements Ballot SA in 1910.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ballot (automobile), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Ballot, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

  • car

Listed on Wikidata.1

2LS: sports car, 4-cylinder 1944 cc, twin-overhead-camshaft, 4-valves-per-cylinder engine

2LT: tourer, single-cam variant of the 2LS

2LTS: variant of the 2LT, with higher-tuned engine

RH: introduced in 1927 with 8-cylinder, single-overhead-cam, 2874 cc engine

Read the full text

RH3: 1929–1932, RH with 3049 cc engine.

HS26: model introduced after the Hispano-Suiza takeover, also known as the Hispano-Suiza Junior, 4580 cc six-cylinder engine

From Wikipedia’s article on Ballot (automobile), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1932Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1905Founded Founded in Paris1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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