History of Citroën since it was absorbed by Peugeot in 1974
Nigel Wild, a noted long time Citroên enthusiast in the UK and regular contributor to the Citroënian magazine, recently wrote an excellent synopsis of Citroën since it was absorbed by Peugeot in 1974.
In just 2 pages of the Citroënian April issue, Nigel managed to provide not only his perspective but an accurate history account that should be mandatory reading for anyone doing research for articles or those just wanting to know about the brand.
With the kind permission of Citroënian, we are pleased share it here;
D – info Special
When is a DS not a Citroën? – when it’s at Retromobile…
What a lovely selection of D-series there was at this premier Parisian show, and all beautifully previewed in the official press release published at length in the March issue. And what a shame that there was no official Citroën stand, and all these Ds were on the DS Automobiles stand, entirely devoid of any reference to Citroën; our esteemed editor noted as much last month. The DS ‘Ballons’ even featured on the show’s promotional poster, suitably matched by the prominence of the feature stand. Taken at face value, to the average visitor this would appear as a fitting tribute to the DS at 70 years – and yet the systematic failure to acknowledge Citroën is very wrong…
You may ask: does this actually matter, beyond being irritating? After all, it is clearly obvious what the cars are. Why would it happen? What – if anything – does it mean for our DS, and indeed for Citroën in general? In fact, we have been here before; back in 2016, Citroën created an enthusiast-orientated website: Citroën Origins, encompassing every model form 1919 to date. Except for two – the DS and SM were very noticeable by their absence. Apparently, the CX was the direct successor to the TA… Bearing in mind that this site was aimed at those with an interest in the company’s history, these omissions were not at all well received; in particular, Julian Marsh of ‘Citroënet’ fame took Citroën to task, and I recall much animated discussion at the Dutch ICCCR taking place around that time.
After initial resistance, Citroën bowed to the pressure and partially reistated the two models in the form of drawn outlines and messages to the effect that they had ‘taken their own paths… but may meet again in the future’. This satisfied precisely no-one, and the complaints continued and multiplied; in due course, both cars were fully and correctly reinstated in exactly the same form as all the other models. The explanation given – such as it was – alleged that the DS was now part of DS Automobiles’ heritage (not to mention the SM, which had also been appropriated). The website – Citroënorigins.co.uk – still exists, but seems to be very clunky in its operation; you may see an apparently largely blank screen, but hover the mouse over it and model names should appear. Alternatively, use the sitemap in the lower left corner.
DS Automobiles had been created several years earlier, in 2009, although at that time it appeared to be simply a sub-brand of Citroën; the first model was the enormously-successful DS3, promoted as ‘anti-retro’ in contrast to the deliberately-nostalgic Mini-Cooper with which it competed. But why create a new brand at all? The reason was that neither Citroën nor Peugeot were perceived by management as sufficiently strong to justify premium pricing, and the DS3 was able to be far more profitable than the C3 on which it was based. As to the name, it was only too logical for PSA to choose the strongest and most identifiable name from their back catalogue – that of the DS. The lack of any detectable relationship between the original DS and the new model was a minor consideration… image was everything!
Let us go right back to 1974, and the last year of Citroën’s independence. At that time, Citroën were able to sell a range comprising models as diverse as the 2CV, GS, DS and SM in the same showroom – the advanced and innovative design and engineering quality was seen to be consistent across the range. Profitability was another matter, however, and its absence drove Citroën into the hands of Peugeot and the consequent formation of PSA. As a family business even older than Citroën, Peugeot were never going to position Citroën above their own – excellent but conventional – models. A truly objective assessment may have done so, in the same way as – much later – VW treated Bentley in creating the Continental GT, placing it well above any of their other brands.
In practice, although the subsequent half-century has seen Citroën survive and thrive, this has to be set against an undeniable background of ‘conventionalisation’, with Citroën becoming increasingly like Peugeots rather than the other way round. There have been flashes of brilliance, such as the developments of hydropneumatic suspension into Hydractive and Activa – but all versions of hydropneumatics have since been discontinued in favour of simpler conventionality. Apparently, this is all that the market needs… In an age of leasing rather than brand loyalty, innovation and distinction have largely given way to convention and conformity.
In recent years, the C6 in particular – and even the C5 (X7) – seemed to look out of place in showrooms awash with volume models like the C1, C3 and C4, compared with the apparently cool and sophisticated showrooms of the ‘unholy trinity’ of upmarket German manufacturers. The commercial failure of the C6 gave force to the idea that the Citroën name could no longer sell upmarket cars – and so the DS brand was born.
This was the crux of the issue – the only reason to create a new brand is lack of confidence in the existing one. In any case, the DS3 was – as previously noted – extremely successful; unfortunately, subsequent models did not share this success, probably due to being insufficiently exceptional to sell in the desired numbers.
Nevertheless, in 2014 DS Automobiles was spun off from Citroën as an entirely separate brand; this may have been ill-advised and was certainly not fully effective, being still linked with Citroën in the public’s mind even now. This is probably inevitable, as for the first five years of its existence DS was part of Citroën, and the cars were badged as such. In this respect, a comparison with Japanese marketing is instructive: Lexus was totally separate from Toyota from the start, likewise Infiniti (Nissan) and Acura (Honda) – albeit the latter never sold in the UK. The gradual transition from Citroën to DS Automobiles was less than ideal, even allowing for the formation of separate showroom from 2015 onwards.
As we come up to date, the position has changed again with the creation of Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Citroën, Peugeot and DS are now but three of a total of fourteen brands – and I doubt that you could name all of them unprompted! For clarity, the others are: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Ram Trucks, and Vauxhall. That is a rather diverse selection! And all of them are competing for investment and indeed their very survival.
Three years ago, Stellantis’ first CEO Carlos Tavares referred to all fourteen brands each having its own rich individual heritage, and to his intention to give each one ten years to demonstrate its worth. At the time, in respect of heritage I thought ‘all but one…’, and that there would never be ten years available. Tavares left Stellantis somewhat abruptly in 2024, and I doubt that his successor – as yet unchosen – will maintain the ten-year commitment. Stellantis’ problem remains one of too many brands, some of which are very weak – Maserati – and other that are direct competitors – Citroën, Peugeot, Vauxhall / Opel. Even Alfa Romeo now has a very similar model competing in this sector!
Against this background, DS Automobiles are very well aware that – uniquely within the group – their heritage is entirely spurious; hence the wish to appropriate the DS and SM in a bid for legitimacy. I imagine that in common with all the Stellantis brands, DS Automobiles will be desperate to prove their relevance and USP (unique selling proposition) to secure future funding. This is the reason behind the recent SM Tribute – a superficially-interesting but fundamentally-flawed concatenation of Opron’s original design cues whilst lacking any real understanding of their purpose. And now DS Automobiles’ major involvement in Retromobile.
Six years ago, Citroën celebrated their centenary with a magnificent and extensive stand at Retromobile; this was in turn flanked as usual by the ‘Citroën Village’ encompassing many Citroën clubs, and the entire presentation was suitably memorable. This year, neither Citroën nor Peugeot were present, and although the Citroën clubs had excellent and varied displays, these were rather dispersed within the halls and a far cry from the previous unified appearance. By contrast, Renault were very much present, and trading strongly on their heritage. This obvious disparity is unfortunate, but I suppose that we may at least take comfort from the fact that Citroën have yet to succumb to the lure of ‘pastiche retro’ Citroëns – I for one have seen all too many progressively ever-more bloated Mini and Fiat 500 derivatives.
When I have attended previous ACI (Amicale Citroën International) AGMs (held at Retromobile), senior management always stressed that ‘heritage is a subset of marketing’, and we have to accept that Stellantis is in the business of making money – the cars are a means to that end. Stellantis have the right to use the DS name for any purpose as they own it, even though we may regret that no DS Automobiles product actually embodies any of the traditional DS innovation or distinctiveness. However, it is both pointless and entirely unacceptable for them to attempt to rewrite history – facts cannot be changed simply to suit a convenient narrative.
Accordingly, I was amused to note that a Classic Car Weekly reporter praised the big Citroën stand at Retromobile – completely failing to realise that it was actually DS Automobiles! Which goes to show that no matter how hard you try to ‘appropriate’ heritage, this is usually impossible – and particularly with one of the most immediately recognisable and revered car designs of all time. The Citroën DS will remain uniquely a Citroën – first, last, always and forever – long after DS Automobiles has ceased to exist. As enthusiasts, it is up to us to uphold the true history and values of the marque – especially when commercial imperatives induce the manufacturer to do otherwise!
Finally – and altogether less controversially! – I’m delighted to announce that D Section has induced Clare Howarth to create a range of merchandise to commemmorate seventy years of the D, and to whet your appetite the initial ‘teaser’ advert should be nearby. When these are brought to market, I suspect that it will be very much a case of ‘buy now while stocks last…’
Citroënthusiastically,
Nigel Wild
Postscript — June 2, 2025
As Nigel’s piece was written earlier this year, the recent announcement that Xavier Chardon will take over as CEO of Citroën effective June 2, succeeding the short tenure of Thierry Koskas, was not mentioned.
And perhaps more important for the future of the Citroën brand, on May 28 Stellantis announced the appointment of Antonio Filosa as Chief Executive Officer. He will officially be CEO of Stellantis starting June 23, when he will also announce a new leadership team.