Vauxhall first started out as the "Vauxhall Iron Works" based in London, specialising in marine engineering. By 1903 Vauxhall had branched out into making cars, its pre-WW1 models being luxury grand tourers. Famous Vauxhall cars from this era included the Prince Henry and 30/98 models.

General Motors acquired Vauxhall in 1925 and so the cars started to become more "mass market" and were built in greater numbers. Following WW2 Vauxhall launched a series of successful models such as the Velox, Victor, Cresta and Viva. Today the Vauxhall name is only used in Britain, all export models being badged as Opel.