Citroën

Citroën (French pronunciation: [sitʁɔɛn] )^{[note 1]} is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in 4 June 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën has been owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired 89.95% share in 1976.^[5] Citroën's head office is located in the Stellantis Poissy Plant in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine since 2021 (previously in Rueil-Malmaison) and its offices studies and research in Vélizy-Villacoublay, Poissy (CEMR), Carrières-sous-Poissy and Sochaux-Montbéliard.

Company type

Subsidiary (S.A.)^[1]

Automotive

4 June 1919 (1919-06-04)

André Citroën

Merged with Peugeot to form PSA Group in 1976^[2]

Poissy (New), Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine^[3]

France

Worldwide, except:

North America
North Korea

Carlos Tavares, CEO Stellantis
Thierry Koskas, CEO Citroën (since 23 February 2023)

Citroën Insurance

13,900^[4]

Stellantis

citroen.com/en

In 1934, the firm established its reputation for innovative technology with the Traction Avant.^[6] This was the world's first car to be mass-produced with front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension, as well as unibody construction, omitting a separate chassis, and instead using the body of the car itself as its main load-bearing structure.^[7]

In 1954, they produced the world's first hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system;^[8] then the revolutionary DS, the first mass-produced car with modern disc brakes, in 1955;^[9] and in 1967 they introduced in several of their models swiveling headlights that allowed for greater visibility on winding roads. These cars have received various national and international awards, including three European Car of the Year awards.

First, the lack of a mid-size car, between its own range of very small, cheap passenger vehicles ( /Ami ) and the large, expensive models (DS/ID).^[28] In today's terms, this would be similar to a brand consisting only of the Tata Nano and Jaguar XJ. Because of its potential volume, the mid-size segment was the most profitable part of the car market and, in 1965, the Citroënesque Renault 16 stepped in to fill it.

2CV

The second major issue was the lack of a powerful engine, suitable for export markets. The post-WW2 system in France was steeply progressive and vehicles over 2.0 (later 2.8) litres displacement, faced a heavy annual tax, with the result that cars made in France were considered underpowered outside the country.^[30] For both the 1955 DS and 1974 CX models, development of the original engine around which the design was planned proved too expensive for the available finances, so the actual engine used in both cases was a modest and outdated four-cylinder design.^[31]