Founded in the early days of the motoring industry by Andre Citroen, the Citroen Car Company produced its first model, the 10CV, in 1919. Citroen soon found itself as being one the largest industrial companies in France, it even managed to advertise (in massive illuminated letters) its name on the side of the Eiffel Tower!

Citroen went on to launch one of its most innovative and important models in 1964, the Traction Avant. The Traction Avant was the worlds first mass-produced front wheel drive passenger cars and was the first of many mould breaking models. Later famous Citroen models included the DS, CX and 2CV models.

Today Citroen survives as part of the alliance between Citroen and Peugeot, although recent models have tended to be somewhat conservative in comparison to previous products.