History of the car brand Citroen

Citroen is a famous French brand, headquartered in the cultural capital of the world, Paris. The company is part of the Peugeot-Citroen auto concern. Not so long ago, the company began active cooperation with the Chinese company Dongfeng, thanks to which the brand's cars receive high-tech equipment.

However, it all started very modestly. Here is the story of a world-renowned brand that contains several unfortunate situations that baffle management.

Founder

In 1878, Andre was born in the Citroen family, which has Ukrainian roots. After receiving a technical education, a young specialist gets a job at a small enterprise that manufactured spare parts for steam locomotives. The master gradually developed. The accumulated experience and good managerial abilities helped him to get the position of director of the technical department at the Mors plant.

During the First World War, the plant was engaged in the creation of shells for the artillery of the French army. When the hostilities ended, the head of the plant had to decide on the profile, since the weapons were no longer so profitable. Andre did not seriously consider taking the path of the automaker. However, he was well aware that this niche could be very profitable.

Plus, the professional already had enough experience in mechanics. This prompted him to take a chance and give a new course to production. The brand was registered in 1919, and received the name of the founder as the name. Initially, he thought about developing a high-performance car model, but practicality stopped him. André understood perfectly well that it is important not just to create a car, but to give the buyer something affordable. Something similar was done by his contemporary, Henry Ford.

Emblem

The design of the double chevron was chosen as the basis for the emblem. It is a special gear with V-shaped teeth. A patent for the manufacture of such a part was filed by the founder of the company back in 1905.

The product was in great demand, especially in large vehicles. Most often, orders came from shipbuilding companies. For example, the famous Titanic had chevron gears in some mechanisms.

When the car company was founded, its founder decided to use a design of his own creation - a double chevron. Throughout the history of the company, the logo has changed nine times, however, as you can see in the photo, the main element has always remained the same.

A separate brand of cars produced by the company, DS uses a logo that bears some resemblance to the main emblem. Cars also use a double chevron, only its edges make up the letter S, and next to it is the letter D.

Vehicle history in models

The history of the development of technologies used by the company can be traced to the models coming off the conveyors of the brand. Here's a quick tour of history.

• 1919 - André Citroen launches production of his first model, the Type A. 18-horsepower internal combustion engine was equipped with a water cooling system. Its volume was 1327 cubic centimeters. The maximum speed was 65 kilometers per hour. The peculiarity of the car was that it used lighting and an electric starter. Also, the model turned out to be quite cheap, due to which its circulation was about 100 pieces per day.
• 1919 - Negotiations are underway with GM to have the newly minted automaker become part of it. The deal was almost signed, but at the last moment the alleged parent company backed out of the deal. This allowed the firm to remain independent until 1934.
• 1919-1928 Citroen uses the world's largest advertising medium, which was entered in the Guinness Book of Records - the Eiffel Tower. To "promote" the brand, the founder of the company sponsors long expeditions to the countries of Africa, North America and Asia. In all cases, he provided his vehicles, thereby demonstrating the reliability of these cheap vehicles.
• 1924 - The brand demonstrates its next creation, the B10. It was the first European car with a steel body. At the Paris Motor Show, the car was immediately liked not only by motorists, but also by critics. However, the popularity of the model quickly passed, since competitors often presented practically unchanging cars, but in a different body, and Citroen delayed this. Because of this, the only thing that interested consumers at that time was the cost of French cars.
• 1933 - two models appear at once. This is Traction Avant, which used a steel monocoque body, independent front suspension and front-wheel drive. The second model is Rossalie, under the hood of which there was a diesel engine.
• 1934 - due to large investments in the development of new models, the company goes bankrupt and goes into the possession of one of its creditors - Michelin. A year later, the founder of the Citroen brand dies. This is followed by a difficult period, during which due to the difficult relations between the authorities of France and Germany, the company is forced to conduct secret development.
• 1948 - at the Paris Motor Show, a small-capacity model with a small power (only 12 horses) 2CV appears, which becomes a real bestseller, and is released until 1990. The small machine was not only economical, but surprisingly reliable. In addition, a motorist with an average income could freely afford such a car. While global manufacturers are trying to win the audience's attention with regular sports cars, Citroen gathers practical motorists around it.
• 1955 - start of production of a famous brand, which appeared under the leadership of this company. The first model of the newly minted division is DS. The technical documentation of these models indicated the number 19, 23, etc., which indicated the volume of the power unit installed in the car. A feature of the car is its expressive appearance and original low ground clearance (what is this, read here). The model first received disc brakes, hydraulic air suspension, which could adjust the ground clearance. The engineers of the Mercedes-Benz concern became interested in this idea, but plagiarism could not be allowed, so the development of a different suspension that changes the height of the car was carried out for almost 15 years. In the 68th, the car received another innovative development - rotary lenses of the front optics. The success of the model is also due to the use of a wind tunnel, which allowed the creation of a body shape with excellent aerodynamic characteristics.
• 1968 - After several unsuccessful investments, the company acquires the renowned sports car manufacturer Maserati. This allows for a more powerful vehicle to attract more active buyers.
• 1970 - The SM model is created on the basis of one of the acquired sports cars. It used a 2,7-liter power unit with 170 horsepower. The steering mechanism, after turning, independently moved the steering wheels to a straight-line position. Also, the car received the already well-known hydropneumatic suspension.
• 1970 - Production of the model that bridged the huge gap between the urban subcompact 2CV and the spectacular and expensive DS. This GS car moved the company to second place after Peugeot among French car manufacturers.
• 1975-1976 the brand goes bankrupt again, despite the sale of several subsidiaries, including the Berliet truck division and Maserati sports models.
• 1976 - The PSA Peugeot-Citroen group is formed, which produces several solid cars. Among them are the Peugeot 104 model, GS, Diane, homologation version 2CV, SH. However, the partners are not interested in the further development of the Citroen division, so they seek to rebrand.
• 1980s management of the division is going through another sad period when all cars are based on Peugeot platforms. By the early 90s, Citroën was practically no different from the companion models.
• 1990 - the brand expands its trading floor, attracting buyers from the United States, post-Soviet countries, Eastern Europe and China.
• 1992 - the presentation of the Xantia model, which changed the further development of the design of all cars of the company.
• 1994 - The first Evasion minivan debuts.
• 1996 - motorists received the practical Berlingo family van.
• 1997 - the Xsara model family appears, which proved to be very popular.
• 2000 - the C5 sedan debuts, which is most likely created as a replacement for Xantia. Starting with it, the "era" of models C starts. The world of motorists receives a minivan C8, C4 cars and S2 in hatchback bodies, urban C1 and the C6 luxury sedan.
• 2002 another popular C3 model appears.

Today, the company continues to strive to gain the respect of a worldwide audience with crossovers, hybrid vehicles and homologation of well-known models. In 2010, the Survolt electric model concept was introduced.

In conclusion, we suggest watching a short overview of the legendary DS car from the 50s:

Goddess: the most beautiful car in the world? Citroen DS (test and history)

Questions and answers:

Where is the Citroen car made? Initially, models of the Citroen brand were assembled in France, and then at historic factories in Spain: in the cities of Vigo, Onet-sous-Bois and Ren-la-Jane. Now cars are assembled at the factories of the PSA Peugeot Citroen group.

What are the Citroen brand models? The list of brand models includes: DS (1955), 2 CV (1963), Acadiane (1987), AMI (1977), BX (1982), CX (1984), AX (1986), Berlingo (2015), C1-C5 , Jumper, etc.

Who bought Citroen? Since 1991 it has been part of the PSA Peugeot Citroen group. In 2021, the group was discontinued due to the merger of the PSA and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) groups. Now it is the Stellantis corporation.