Simca do Brasil was a subsidiary of the now defunct French automaker Simca and started out in the late 1950s assembling the Simca Vedette imported in kit form from France and selling it in three versions, the Chambord, Présidence and Rallye. Later the Company manufactured the radically restyled Esplanada with improved engines and, with increasing control by the Chrysler Group over the French concern, was taken over by the American car giant as majority share holder.