History of Citroen

In 1919, Citroen was founded, one of the largest automobile companies in Europe. The brand’s first model became one of the most popular cars of the 20th century. The compact Citroen A was equipped with a 1.3-liter power unit, the power of which was 18 horsepower. The combination of a light body, a powerful and reliable engine, as well as a low price model, ensured the great popularity of Citroen cars.

After the first success, the brand began to create several cars at once, the company’s founder Andre Citroen was passionate about the idea of ​​​​creating such a car that could become a platform for creating several models. At the same time, the production of Model A exceeded one hundred copies per day. However, in 1921, the Citroën 5 CV Trefle was introduced, which replaced the Model A in a timely manner, as its sales rate gradually fell.

In parallel with this, it was Andre Citroen who became the first in the world to apply PR solutions in the automotive sector, which led to the brand gaining popularity far beyond France. By the end of the 20s, Citroen had representation in all major European countries.

In 1929, two models were presented at once – B12 and B14, which won the title of the most comfortable cars of their time. This was confirmed by sales of Citroen cars, which sold 135 thousand in just two years of production. And in 1931, the next Citroen Grand Lux ​​model was introduced, which became the company’s first premium car. The car was equipped with a 2.7-liter power unit, revolutionary for the European market, with a capacity of 53 horsepower. By 1933, Citroën, under André’s leadership, had become the largest car manufacturer on the continent, surpassing Italy’s FIAT and bringing car production to 1,100 cars a day.

However, already in 1934, the demand for Citroen cars suddenly fell, which by that time had invested all its assets in the creation of new factories and technology centers, so the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. One of the reasons for such a rapid collapse was the global economic crisis. 2 months after the start of the bankruptcy proceedings, 60% of the shares were bought out by the Michelin automobile rubber manufacturer.

A few months later, the founder of the company Andre Citroen passes away. Nevertheless, the heirs of the automotive legend tried to rectify the situation, which took them two decades. In 1955, the Citroen DS model was introduced, which became very popular in the automotive market in France and Italy. The company was able to make a profit for the first time, something that had not happened for more than twenty years. However, the period from 1955 to 1969 did not become successful for Citroen. In 1976, the Citroen brand became part of Peugeot, the largest automaker in France at that time.

In the first half of the 90s of the twentieth century, the Citroen brand produces such models as Santia, Saxo and Berlingo, gradually returning to its former greatness. In addition, active preparations have begun for participation in several racing series. At the same time, several models of different classes are born at once. The first of these was the Citroen C4 model, which belongs to the compact class C according to the European classification, followed by the C3 – B class, and C5 – D class.

In 2004, just two years after entering the World Rally Championship, French driver Sébastien Loeb, driving a Citroen Casara, becomes the winner of the general classification. This was followed by his victories in the C4, C3 and DS3 cars, bringing the total number of victories to 9. Thus, taking part in 12 seasons of the championship, a record was set for the number of victories in the history of the WRC.

The model range of the company, against the backdrop of success in automobile competitions, was replenished with sports versions of famous models, and in 2007, the first Citroen crossover, built on the Mitsubishi Outlander platform, was introduced. In 2011, another compact crossover model was introduced, which became one of the most popular cars in the French market in 2012.

The new direction of the company was the creation of a unique design. Due to the fact that all technological developments were carried out jointly with Peugeot, they did not require huge investments.

In 2013, the Citroen C4 Picasso (five-seater version) was released, which soon, already in 2014, found its “big brother” Citroen Grand C4 Picasso with increased capacity (seven seats). The upgraded version was a real leap forward and gave all subsequent models a completely new sophisticated design. The car is designed on the EMP2 platform, thanks to which the drivers of the novelty have reduced the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. This model was distinguished not only by its perfect appearance, but also by the introduction of a huge number of modern technologies. For example, a convenient touch display that allows you to control all on-board systems.

It is worth noting that the versions of 2013 and 2014 were able to collect more than 65 thousand orders. Cars began to be in great demand in large families.