Citroën Vans

Citroën

Following the end of World War I, André Citroën had a redundant armaments factory but no product. So in 1919 the company turned its attention to automobiles. Despite Citroën’s initial success, Citroën was slow to respond to changes in the market place; Citroën’s low prices was the only factor that maintained Citroën’s sales in the face of heavy losses.

Citroën eventually made multiple advancements and in 1933 launched the first commercially available diesel engines in its Rosalie passenger car. However, other designs were not so well received and forced Citroën into financial ruin in 1934. But the Citroën brand was preserved by its takeover by the Michelin tyre company. 

Citroën researchers worked in secret during the German occupation of World War II and their efforts were later sold as the 2CV, a car that would develop a cult following normally reserved for the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. Eventually Citroën would become an early pioneer of aerodynamic cars, which reduced fuel consumption and led to improves in the pursuit of greater speeds. 

In 1968 the Citroën was restructured including the sale of a 49% stake to Fiat and the purchase of Italian sports car maker Maserati but this era would be short-lived due to the 1973 oil crisis; indeed Fiat returned their 49% stake to Michelin and in 1974 Citroën applied for bankruptcy. In response the French government merged Automobiles Citroën and Automobiles Peugeot into a single company with Peugeot purchasing 38.2% of Citroën in 1974. In 1976 the holding company, known as PSA Peugeot Citroën, was born.

The PSA arrangement eroded Citroën's historically ambitious attitude to engineering and styling. The Citroën brand would become an economy brand. This helped Citroën move into new geographic markets including Romania. 

According to the PSA Peugeot Citroën group's 2003 annual report Citroën sold 1,372,500 cars in 2003.

Citroën Nemo 

The Citroën Nemo van is Citroën's entry in the compact high-cube van sector and the creation of the Peugeot Citroën Fiat partnership. It shares the same basis as the Fiat Fiorino van and Peugeot Bipper van. The Citroën Nemo van offers a compact exterior with maximised interior space and a decent payload; in fact the Citroën Nemo can accommodate a euro-pallet between the wheel arches with room to spare! Moreover the Citroën Nemo van comes with a choice of efficient engines. The Citroën Nemo is the ideal urban van for those making multiple small drops. 

Citroën Berlingo 

Since its launch in 1996 the Citroën Berlingo van has led the way in the very competitive small panel segment of the van market.  In addition to being a truly cheap vans, the Citroën Berlingo van offers a raft of options to suit every need. The Citroën Berlingo van is available in two body lengths and includes a collapsible passenger seat as standard to increase load length even further. 

Citroën Dispatch

The Citroën Dispatch van is worthy of consideration when choosing which large medium van to buy. The Citroën Dispatch holds its own against the Renault Trafic, Mercedes-Benz Vito and Volkswagen Transporter, Peugeot Expert and Fiat Scudo. However, it’s worth remembering that the Citroën Dispatch comes with Smartnav with vehicle tracking as standard. The Citroën Dispatch van is available in two lengths, two heights and three different cargo volumes.

Citroën Relay