Citroën
Automobiles CITROËN
Type
Subsidiary of PSA Peugeot
Citroën
Founded
1919
Founder(s)
André Citroën
Headquarters Paris, France
Industry
Automotive
Products
Automobile
Employees
13,900[1]
Parent
PSA Peugeot Citroën
Website
Citroën.com
Citroën (French pronunciation: [sitʁoˈɛn]) is a
French automobile manufacturer. Founded in
1919 by André Citroën, it was the world’s
first mass-production car company outside of
the USA. Since 1976 it has been part of PSA
Peugeot Citroën, and its headquarters is on
rue Fructidor, Paris.
Originally a mass-market car maker with
relatively straightforward designs, Citroën
shocked the world in 1934 with the innovat-
ive Traction Avant, the world’s first mass-pro-
duction front wheel drive car (1934–56). Oth-
er significant models include the H Van
(1947–81),
the 2CV (1948–90),
the DS
(1955–1975) and the CX (1974–91).
History
Early years
André Citroën built armaments for France
during World War I and after the war he had
a factory and no product. In 1919, the busi-
ness started to produce automobiles, begin-
ning with the conventional type A. The Type
A was designed by Jules Salomon, Chief
Design Officer from Le Zèbre.
Citroën was a keen marketer—he used the
Eiffel Tower as the world’s largest advert-
ising sign, as recorded in the Guinness Book
of Records. He also sponsored expeditions in
Asia (Croisière Jaune) and Africa (Croisière
Noire), intended to demonstrate the potential
for motor vehicles equipped with the Ké-
gresse track system to cross inhospitable re-
gions. The expeditions conveyed scientists
and journalists.
In 1924, Citroën began a business rela-
tionship with American engineer Edward G.
Budd. From 1899, Budd had worked to devel-
op stainless steel bodies for railroad cars, for
the Pullman in particular. Budd went on to
manufacture steel bodies for many auto-
makers, Dodge being his first big auto client.
In 1928, Citroën introduced the first all-steel
body in Europe.
The cars were initially successful in the
marketplace, but soon competitors
(who
were still using a w