Ateliers de Construction Mecanique L'Aster

L'Aster, Aster, Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster, was a French manufacturer of automobiles and the leading supplier of engines to other manufacturers from the late 1890s until circa 1910/12. Although primarily known as an engine mass manufacturer the company also produced chassis for coach-works and a complete range of components.

Aster produced a range of engines including: stationary motors; electricity generators; automobile motors; marine engines and aero engines. There were air-cooled and water cooled Gasoline motors, Kerosene motors, and Gas Motors. Among the companies for which Aster produced engines and other parts were Achilles, Argyll, Ariès, Barré, Bolide, Belhaven, Bij 't Vuur, Century, Clément, Darracq, Dennis, Durham, Churchill, Ernst, Excelsior, Gladiator, Hanzer, Hoflack, Hurtu, Korn et Latil, La Torpille, Lucerna, Parisienne, Passy-Thellier, Pearson, Prunel, Rochet, Rouxel, Reyrol, Sage, Siddeley-Deasy, Simplicia, Singer, Swift, Vulcan, West-Aster, Whippet, Whitlock. and Le Zèbre. By 1906 Aster were able to claim over 11,000 users of their engines.

From the mid-1900s 'Aster-Wembley' manufactured engines under license in Wembley (London) UK. In 1913 this became the 'Aster Engineering Co' which produced aircraft engines during the First World War, and then in 1922 started production of Aster cars. By 1927 it had been absorbed into Arrol Johnston. In Italy the Aster Società Italiana Motori supplied and built both cars and engines under licence from 1906-1908.

In 1904 the Parisian newspaper Le Petit Journal stated that Aster monopolised the mass manufacture of engines in France, and had a 'universal reputation' and success shown by innumerable users. By 1912 they claimed to cater for over 130 makes.