During 1964, Matra became the owner of car manufacturer Automobiles René Bonnet. For a time, Matra was largely centred around its vehicle division, Matra Automobiles. However, within a decade, Matra had sold its road car division to American-owned car manufacturer Chrysler Europe, having shifted focus onto its other growing business activities.

During the 1970s, Lagardère pursued an overall strategy of merging Matra with various other companies,