The trend of Matchbox cars started when the Lesney Toy Company launched their range of tiny toy cars. The name 'Matchbox' was attributed to the cars being packaged in boxes quite similar to match boxes. The Lesney Toy Company was started by Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith, classmates who had served together in the Royal Navy during WW II. Matchbox cars were manufactured in two sizes. The smaller 1:64 scale cars, which were also the more popular, measured 2.5 inches, whereas the bigger 1:43 scale version measured 3.5 inches. The 1:43 scale models were referred to as 'Major' or 'Super Kings'. The bigger variety was marketed more as collectibles since they carried the intricacies and design characteristics of the real car in great detail. The smaller cars were positioned as toys and aimed more towards kids.

Although Matchbox specialized in die-cast cars, they made a brief foray into manufacturing plastic model kits sometime in the 1970s. However, they did not taste much success in manufacturing plastic models and discontinued this line shortly after it began. The Lesney Toy Company sunk down to bankruptcy in 1982 and ever since Matchbox has changed hands several times, until it was taken over by Mattel in 1996. In 2002 Mattel introduced a series of cars, titled the 'Heroic' series, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Matchbox.

The emphasis now is for Matchbox to make a comeback with manufacturing miniature models of real cars with as much detailing as possible. Mattel has already re-launched Matchbox Sky Busters in 2002 in collaboration with Continental Airlines. Even with new series' being launched through Mattel, the classic Matchbox cars remain popular to this day, albeit more as memorabilia.