Founded in 1919, Citroën is a French automobile company known for its innovative designs and engineering. The automaker’s century-long history began with Traction Avant, the world’s first-ever front-wheel-drive car to go into mass production. Other iconic vehicles, such as the 2CV, DS, and Type H, followed suit.
Citroën’s brand identity is also quite distinctive. Represented by two symbolic chevrons pointing upwards, it is among the most easily recognisable automotive emblems. Although the company’s logo has undergone several changes over the years, the chevrons have remained a consistent design element.
Here, we will look back at the Citroën logo history to discuss its origin and the different variations throughout the evolution of its concept.
Citroën Logo Meaning
Before we begin discussing the history of the Citroën logo, let’s learn a little about its meaning, which is pretty straightforward. The brand was named after the surname of its founder André-Gustave Citroën, a famous French industrialist. He also designed the first Citroën badge himself.
Timeline of Citroën Logo History
Citroen is one of the famous French car brands with a unique logo history. Starting from its very first iteration to the latest design, we’ll now walk through the complete evolution timeline of the Citroen logo.
1919-1929
Citroën’s first badge design was launched in 1919, the very year the company was founded. It had the same chevrons as we see today in the company’s logo design and on its car grilles. This concept was inspired by the double herringbone-shaped Polish metal gear system of the early 20th century. André Citroën discovered it during a visit to his family home in Poland.
In the company’s first logo, the chevrons or inverted V’s in the design were confined within an oval shape. Made with blue lines outlined with yellow, the logo was pretty simple. Later on, the brand’s logo got its first update in 1921 when it was introduced with a darker shade of blue filling out the entire geometrical shape.
1929-1935
In 1929, the emblem of Citroën underwent a redesign, incorporating a white swan. Positioned beneath the enlarged and more prominent double arrows featured in previous logos, the swan took its place gracefully.
A larger golden circle surrounded the design. The swan faced towards the left, positioned atop a series of undulating blue lines to resemble water. These wavy lines were designed to provide a sense of fluidity and motion.
In this variant of the logo, the name of the company was integrated within the waves and blended with the overall design. The concept was a depiction of the innovation of automotive aerodynamics.
1936-1959
In 1936, Citroën reverted to a simpler emblem. The redesigned version now featured a yellow oval and double arrow design enclosed within a blue octagon. Notably, the octagon was adorned with a thin yellow frame, adding a subtle touch to the overall composition.
The word “Citroën” was displayed in the image, employing a clean and straightforward sans-serif font. The writing had all capital letters.
Citroën DS Logo
In 1955, Citroen also introduced its historically acclaimed vehicle – the DS. Alongside its quirky design and premium features, it was the first mass-production vehicle equipped with disk brakes and hydro-pneumatic suspension. Read here to find out how disk brakes in cars work.
The DS line-up became so popular that Citroën made a separate brand out of it. Known as the DS automobile, it is now the luxury division of the carmaker with a distinct automobile badge. The DS logo can be found on the boot of relevant car models.
1959-1985
According to the timeline of the Citroën logo, it got redesigned in 1959. It was to add a touch of modernity. Here, the wordmark disappeared and the chevrons became three-dimensional (3D). The oval from previous artworks appeared again, but more subtly to help highlight the chevrons.
However, in 1966, Citroën made a few changes to this logo design. The automaker placed the yellow chevrons within the oval, instead of allowing them to extend over it. The entire geometrical design was encased in a blue rectangle, which further had a yellow frame. Moreover, the wordmark for Citroën appeared again.
1985-2009
Another prominent change in the logo was introduced during the 1980s. It was when its colour palette was changed, resonating the brand image with the modern audience. In this new iteration, the chevrons were turned white.
The arrows appeared on a red square background, positioned right on top of a large wordmark. The bold font was used for the Citroën emblem. It was written in all black, giving it a contemporary look.
2009-2016
Citroën came up with a new variation of its logo in 2009. It had an altered colour palette with the chevrons designed in a textured metal shade. The glossy appearance of the design with a 3D finish gave it a contemporary touch. The bright red text of the wordmark made it more evident with little curved edges.
2016-2021
The design of the 2016 Citroën logo went more towards the minimal side. The colour palette of the Citroen old logo was replaced by grey accents. The font and design remained the same, but it didn’t have that 3D aspect, but more of a flat design.
2021-2022
Citroën introduced another new badge in 2021, prominently featuring its name. The new logo was used by the brand for several months. It had an enlarged uppercase logotype with a solid black emblem positioned to the left. The entire badge was presented in a sleek black colour against a contrasting white background. Also, note that Citroen is now one of the automotive brands owned by Stellantis.
2022-Present
The logo introduced by the French car brand in 2022 pays homage to the brand’s original emblem from 1919. Citroën calls it the beginning of a “dynamic era” as the carmaker is shifting its focus to make electric vehicles more accessible. The new design features the revival of the oval shape, enclosing the iconic chevrons—reminiscent of herringbone patterns.
Compared to the original design, the chevrons have a more pronounced appearance while the oval looks a bit more elongated. The wordmark has an uppercase logotype in a sans-serif Citroen logo font with curved edges and characters stretched a bit horizontally.
This brings us to the end of the timeline of the Citroën logo history. The evolution of the brand identity hints at the carmaker’s forward-looking approach towards design and practicality.
If you are a Citroën fan, you pick from these used Citroën cars for sale in the UAE and grow your car collection.
To learn more about your favourite carmaker’s history and models, keep reading our auto blog.
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