History
Like many other factories in Europe during World War I, the factory owned by Andre Citroën built armaments for the French army. After the war was over, Citroën had an empty factory and decided to get into the automobile industry. The first model released in this factory was referred to as Type A. During the first year of production, General Motors expressed interest in purchasing the factory; though, this never quite materialised.
Andre Citroën knew that marketing was a major part of selling products. With this in mind, Citroën utilised grand marketing schemes to promote his vehicles. This included expeditions to Africa, North America, and Asia. The purpose of these expeditions was to show off his automobiles ability to traverse a variety of environments and conditions.
Early on, the vehicles manufactured by Citroën sold well. While other European automobile makers were still using wooden bodies for their cars, the cars made by Citroën had mostly steel bodies. At the 1924 Paris Motor Show, Citroën launched the first European automobile to have an entire body made of steel. This forced competitors to begin changing the design of the bodies of their vehicles.
Major Events
Needing to get an edge over the competition, Citroën started work on new designs. The result was the Traction Avant. Once again, Citroën attempted to revolutionise the European automobile industry. The Traction Avant featured a body with no separate framing. Other features included front wheel drive and independent front wheel suspension. The next breakthrough by Citroën came in 1933 with the introduction of the Rosalie. The Rosalie was the first passenger car featuring a diesel engine to be sold commercially.
For the second half of the 20th century, it would be rare to drive down a street in France without seeing a Citroën 2CV. The 2CV was an affordable passenger car that went into production in 1948. For the next 42 years the 2CV continued to be produced by Citroën with very little changes to the design.
Another first in the automobile industry was the release of the Citroën DS in 1955. Using a self-levelling suspension system, the DS was the first vehicle in Europe to use disc brakes. Along with the superior suspension of the DS, features such as power steering, brakes, and suspension helped propel the success of the DS. To this day, the DS is still in production; though, with it has been redesigned several times since its initial release.
The late 1960s were a time of restructuring for Citroën. They purchased the Italian car company Maserati. This occurred a year after Fiat, another Italian car company, purchased 49% of Citroën. Along with most automobile manufacturers, Citroën was affected by the 1973 energy crisis. The same year, Fiat removed itself from Citroën and sold their shares back to the previous shareholder – Michelin. In 1974, they had to cease production of automobiles in North America.
In 1984, Citroën started selling their vehicles in China. Since their introduction into the Chinese market, Citroën has continued to manufacture a complete lineup of cars in China. This includes cars designed by Chinese automobile makers, such as the Elysee and the Fukang. Citroën has plants located throughout the world, with the exception of North America. Citroën has not sold vehicles in North America since 1974. In addition to plants in China, Citroën has factories located in Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and Slovakia.
Like many other automobile companies, Citroën is involved in various racing circuits. Using the name Citroën Racing, their drivers have frequently won the World Rally Championship, winning the Manufacturer’s Title eight separate times since 2003.
Going Forward
Known for their innovative technologies, Citroën is respected as a quality manufacturer of automobiles. Over the years they have won the European Car of the Year Awards several times. Citroën continues to manufacture quality vehicles. Some of their latest models include the DS 5LS luxury sedan. Normally, the DS is marketed as a budget vehicle; however, they hope to revitalise the luxury market with this latest offering from their line of vehicles.
