Photos of Citroën automobiles produced from 1919 up to the Traction Avant era. Cars such as:
- Type A (1919–1922)
- Type B (1921–1927)
- Type C C2-C3 (1921–1926)
- Kégresse track
- Type AC4 & AC6 — C4 & C6 (1928–1934)
- 7U and 11UA (1935–1939)
- 8CV Rosalie (1932–1935)
- 10CV (1932–1935)
- 15 (1935–1936)
Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën (1878–1935), Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA, a technique he developed while mass-producing armaments for the French military in World War I. In 1919, the business started to produce automobiles, beginning with the conventional Type A. Citroen also pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that complements the motor car. Within eight years Citroën had become Europe’s largest car manufacturer and the 4th largest in the world.
André Citroën was a keen marketer. He used the Eiffel Tower as the world’s largest advertising sign, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. He also sponsored expeditions in Asia (Croisière Jaune), North America (Croisière Blanche) and Africa (Croisière Noire), intended to demonstrate the potential for motor vehicles equipped with the Kégresse track system to cross inhospitable regions. The expeditions conveyed scientists and journalists.
In 1924, Citroën produced Europe’s first all-steel-bodied car, the B-10. Subsequent models built on the same principles of the B10; well equipped, reliable and affordable, were introduced. 6-cylinder vehicle production at Citroën began in October 1928 at the Paris Motor Show with the introduction of the Citroën C6. It was continued four years later with the “Citroën 15″ (also affectionately were called “Rosalie”).
As time went on, and competitors had begun to offer the same types of vehicles, André Citroen realized that he needed to innovate. He knew that a new conventional model would not provide the reduction in weight and materials necessary for the cars to be profitable. And so Citroen began development of the revolutionary Traction Avant.