Citroens story, as with most great car manufacturers, begins with a great man, André Citroen. After serving in the French army, he set up a gear-making business, but in 1919, he started to produce cars, beginning with the conventional Type A.
In 1924, Citroen began a relationship with American engineer Edward G. Budd, who had worked to develop pressed-steel bodies for railroad cars. In 1928, Citroen introduced the first all-steel body in Europe. By 1930, Budd had created a prototype for Citroen with a unibody and front wheel drive.
In the beginning, the cars were successful. But soon competitors introduced aerodynamic body designs and Citroen had no way to respond. Citroens still sold in large quantities, but the car's low price was the main selling point and Citroen experienced heavy losses. To overcome this, AndrŽ Citroen developed the 'Traction Avant', a car so innovative that it had no competition. However, the development costs lead to financial ruin.
In 1934, it was then taken over by its biggest creditor, the tire company Michelin.
Citroen unveiled the 2CV at the Paris Salon in 1948. And this surprisingly became very successful and didn't stop production until the 90s.
1955 saw the introduction of the DS, which was had Citroen's now legendary hydropneumatic suspension system, power steering, power brakes and directional headlights.
In 1965 Citroen bought French carmaker Panhard. Two years later it took control of Maserati and used its engine in the SM. This was unfortunately timed, with the impending 1973 energy crisis soon to make GT manufacture unprofitable.
Huge losses caused by failure of the Maserati tie-up coupled with crippling warranty costs from the unreliable GS and high development cost of CX led to Peugeot taking over in 1976. The combined company was known as PSA Peugeot Citroen.
In the 1980s, Citroen models were increasingly Peugeot-based. The XM, for example, used the same engines and floorpan as the Peugeot 605, and the Xantia of 1993 was identical under the skin to the Peugeot 406.
In spite of the problems between Peugeot and Citroen, Citroen has continued its tradition for innovation, with new vehicles such as the C2 and the Xsara Picasso. The introduction of even newer models, such as the XM replacement, the C6, indicates Citroen's continued commitment to innovation in the 21st century.
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Whether you currently own a Citroen or you are considering buying a model from
the Citroen range, it helps if you understand insurance groups and how they affect
your premium.
Insurance group ratings take into account performance, security, damage and parts costs, new
car values, availability of body shells and repair costs and times. What you'll typically
find is that cars in lower insurance groups attract a lower premium, whilst cars in higher
insurance groups attract a higher premium - usually because they are high performance models
or have high repair or replacement costs. Just choose a model to check its insurance group ratings.