Citroën Model History

France · founded 1919

France's most daring automaker — inventor of the mass-produced front-wheel-drive car, creator of the revolutionary DS, and a century-long champion of hydropneumatic suspension and radical engineering.

Models

Traction Avant

The world's first mass-produced front-wheel-drive car with unibody construction — a 1934 engineering revolution that defined the modern automobile.

Sedan · 1934–1957
2CV

Citroën's people's car — an ultra-frugal air-cooled two-cylinder that mobilised postwar France and sold over nine million in 42 years.

Microcar · 1948–1990
DS

The 'Goddess' — a 1955 Paris Motor Show sensation that pioneered hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension, disc brakes, and swivelling headlights, and remains one of the most influential cars ever made.

Executive car · 1955–1975
SM

Citroën's Maserati-engined grand tourer — a 2+2 coupé that married a V6 from Maserati to Citroën's hydropneumatic suspension and DIRAVI power steering.

Sports car · 1970–1975
CX

The DS successor — a slippery, hydropneumatic large saloon that won 1975 European Car of the Year and kept Citroën's flagship engineering tradition alive for 17 years.

Executive car · 1974–1991
BX

Citroën's 1980s large family car — Bertone-styled, hydropneumatically suspended, and a massive sales success with over 2.3 million built.

Large family car · 1982–1994
XM

Citroën's CX successor — a 1990 European Car of the Year with world-first electronically controlled 'Hydractive' hydropneumatic suspension.

Executive car · 1989–2000
C3

Citroën's long-running supermini successor to the AX and Saxo — now in its fourth generation and offered as an affordable electric.

Supermini · 2002–present
C4

Citroën's compact family hatchback — now in its third generation as a crossover-influenced hatch with a plug-in hybrid variant.

Compact car · 2004–present
C5

The XM's successor — a large family saloon and estate produced across two generations from 2001 to 2017, before being succeeded by the crossover C5 X.

Executive car · 2001–2017
C5 X

The reinvention of Citroën's flagship — a raised crossover-saloon combining SUV ground clearance, a fastback roofline, and plug-in hybrid power.

Executive car · 2022–present
Xsara Picasso

Citroën's five-seat compact MPV — a tall, airy people-carrier that sold strongly across Europe for over a decade.

Compact MPV · 1999–2012
Berlingo

Citroën's car-derived van and passenger MPV — a practical van-based people-carrier launched in 1996 and now in its third generation with electric variant.

Compact MPV · 1996–present
DS 3 (Citroën-badged)

The stylish mini premium hatchback that launched Citroën's DS luxury sub-brand — sold as a Citroën DS 3 until DS Automobiles became independent in 2015.

Supermini · 2010–2016

Other makes