Bold Business Ideas of Andre Citroen

In 1919, a significant historical event took place in the European automotive industry – the Citroen brand released its first mass-produced car, the Model A, for sale. From that moment on, anyone from the middle class could own a car. This event was as revolutionary for Europe as the opening of Henry Ford's plant in the United States.

However, cars were not the brand's first product – by the time the Model A was produced, the brand's trademark, resembling two inverted V letters, was widely known in Europe. These gears, similar in shape, formed the foundation of the future automotive giant. Andre Citroen's success was made possible by his ability to generate bold business ideas that gradually led him to success.

The Start of Andre Citroen's Business Career

Future automotive magnate Andre Citroen was born in 1878 into a family of a prominent businessman who, along with partners, organized a business for processing precious stones. When Andre was six years old, a tragedy struck – his father took his own life. The inheritance left was enough for Andre to receive an education at a polytechnic institute, after which he joined a company producing locomotive parts. However, simple work did not satisfy the young man, and he began to generate business ideas. In 1990, during a visit to his relatives in Poland, he saw a factory where gears with V-shaped teeth were cast. Citroen had a keen market sense and understood the high demand for this product. He immediately got the idea to start manufacturing similar gears in France.

During World War I, Andre enlisted in the army as a lieutenant in the heavy artillery. There he noticed a serious issue with ammunition supplies. In January 1915, having been promoted to captain, Andre Citroen wrote a letter to the chief of artillery services in the French Ministry of War. In this letter, he promised to build and put into operation a factory producing 75mm shrapnel shells in just 4 months. This type of ammunition was highly demanded on the front lines.

This was an incredibly bold promise, but Andre Citroen fulfilled it – he built a factory on the banks of the Seine that produced far more ammunition than all other defense complex facilities combined. This activity brought Citroen substantial capital, allowing him to embark on his next ambitious project – releasing a car for the mass market.

The Birth of the Citroen Car Factory

The idea to start manufacturing cars came to Citroen before the end of World War I. He assembled a team of highly skilled professionals and in 1912, visited Ford's famous factories to study assembly line production. He implemented the acquired knowledge at his own plant. By the early months of 1919, advertisements appeared in all French newspapers announcing the launch of a new car at an unprecedented price of 7250 francs. It was a sensation – no other French manufacturer could offer such prices. Two weeks after the announcement, the factory received 16,000 orders for the first Citroen car – the Model A.

In the early years of car production, about a hundred vehicles were produced each day. Four years later, production capacity was increased, and the daily volume rose to three hundred cars per day.

A Global Marketing Approach – the Foundation of Citroen's Success

As a talented entrepreneurial strategist, Andre Citroen realized that producing such a volume of cars required ensuring sustained demand for years to come. Therefore, he allocated a significant budget to advertising activities aimed at the distant future.

In 1933, all Citroen factories were radically restructured and merged into a single automotive giant, covering an area of 55,000 square meters. This new production plant became capable of meeting France's automotive needs with quality and affordable cars.