Building its first car in 1903, Vauxhall Ironworks started out as a manufacturer of mostly sports and touring cars, and became Vauxhall Motors in 1907. However, the takeover by General Motors in 1925 saw it head more profitably for the mass market that was starting to grow.

In 1932 the milestone Cadet became the first British car with a synchromesh gearbox. Another first came in 1938 with unitary construction for the Vauxhall 10. Rationalisation gradually pushed Vauxhall closer to its German counterpart Opel, and after Viva production ended in 1979, all subsequent Vauxhalls were in effect little more than rebadged Opels.