Le Conservatoire du patrimoine de Citroën

The following is a Press Release issued by Citroën's Direction de la Communication, Service Presse in November 2001 - Page One

I have passed on the views of Citroën enthusiasts who, unlike the company under the direction of Xavier Karcher, actually preserved the marque's heritage for them - and suffered hostility for their pains.

Citroën under the current direction of Messrs Satinet and Folz are to be congratulated but I suspect it is a case of too little, too late.
 
 

CITROEN INAUGURATES LE CONSERVATOIRE, SHOWCASE OF THE BRAND'S HERITAGE
On 28 November 2001, Mr Pierre Peugeot, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën, and Mr Claude Satinet, Managing Director of Automobiles Citroën, are inaugurating Le Conservatoire, showcase of the Brand's heritage, in Aulnay-sous-Bois.
The centre houses more than 300 Citroën models, together with a vast quantity of documentation and a host of souvenirs directly linked to the Brand's history. The role of Le Conservatoire is fundamentally different to that of a museum, since it will not be open to the public. It has been set up to house and maintain examples of the vehicles produced by Citroën since its founding up to the present day, and to manage the Brand's archives in their entirety.

A PARTICULARLY FAVOURABLE BACKDROP
The inauguration of Le Conservatoire takes place against a particularly favourable backdrop for Citroën, which is thus able to establish a link between its rich and eventful history and its strong present-day performance. The Brand's range of rich, diversified and recent models reflects its ability to innovate, and bears testimony to the remarkable impetus that has characterised Citroën in recent years.
Through this strategy of innovation, Citroën has been able to satisfy and even to anticipate customer requirements. The HDi engines, for example, have prompted a wave of enthusiasm for diesel vehicles, while multiplex electrics have paved the way for a host of new functions on most Citroën models. Last, the Berlingo, Xsara Picasso, CS and C3 express new ways of using interior space, with their original styling.

BALANCED, STRONG AND CONSTANT GROWTH: 52% IN FIVE YEARS
Over the past few years, these innovations have led to fast growth in Citroën sales worldwide.
In 2000, the Brand beat its own historic sales record for the fourth year running. With 1,140,000 vehicles sold, the Brand grew sales by more than 13.2% on 1999, an increase of more than 1 33,000 units.
Citroën has seen sales grow by 52% over the past five years. In 2001, the Brand is consolidating this exceptional growth. Results for the first ten months show an increase of 11.5% despite a relatively unfavourable backdrop (stagnant European market). This growth is balanced in that it is distributed fairly evenly across all markets and involves all the models in the range. New vehicles currently in the pipeline, such as the Citroen C3 scheduled for launch in April 2002, are expected to further boost this trend.

CITROEN, A BRAND WITH A PRESTIGIOUS HISTORY
Today's results can also be said to spring from the history of the Brand. More than any other carmaker, Citroën can lay proud claim to a story that is also the history of the 20th century.
Citroën has made its mark on every age, with innovations whose impact stretches far beyond that of the automotive industry alone, to encompass design, architecture, industry, marketing and advertising.
THE ARCHITECTURAL WEALTH OF CITROEN'S BUILDINGS EXPRESSES THE HISTORY OF THE BRAND
The history of the Brand is also the history of its premises and buildings, some of which are regarded as striking illustrations of urban architecture.
These historic sites reflect the Brand's history and provide a link between past and present. It was for this reason that Citroën chose to build its new head office - opened in 2001 - on one of the Brand's historic sites. The new building is on the site of the old Epinettes factory, opened in 1924 for the cold-stamping of metal parts. The decision to build Le Conservatoire next to the Aulnay-sous-Bois plant reflects the same logic.
Continuing its efforts to link past and present, Citroën also plans to renovate one of the Brand's historic and particularly prestigious sites.

AN INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION
Located on the world's biggest and most famous avenue at 42, avenue des Champs-Elysées, the site currently occupied by "Citroën Hippo" is to be fully converted and renovated. To this end, the Brand is to organise an international architectural competition, reflecting the importance it attaches to this renovation project. Opened by Citroën in 1928, these premises extend over an area of over 1,200 m2, and constitute a historic showcase for the Brand. From the day it opened, the Champs-Elysées showroom has been the setting preferred by Citroën for displaying its most recent and prestigious vehicles (the B14, C4, C6 and their many successors), and for promoting its activities (exhibitions, expeditions) and innovations in the field of service.
Rich in memories of times past, this building will serve in the future as a showcase for the products of today, yesterday and tomorrow. It will also be a forum of prestige through which Citroën will turn the spotlight on its creative talent, renewal and enthusiasm.

REEMPHASISING THE BRAND'S HERITAGE
The architectural approach adopted by Citroën for the Champs-Elyseés building reflects the Brand's determination to reconstitute and give greater prominence to its heritage, by acquiring premises of symbolic importance that were formerly owned by Citroen, or by renovating historic sites.
Among the richest and most interesting sites is the Citroën branch in Lyon, located in the rue de Marseille and built in 1930. These premises were used to assemble the C4 and the C6. Classified today as a historical monument, the building reflects the architectural wealth of certain buildings owned by the Brand.
The headquarters of Citroën's subsidiaries in Belgium and the Netherlands, built at the beginning of the 1930s in Brussels (place de I'Yser) and Amsterdam (Stadionplein), are other examples of buildings that form an integral part of the cultural heritage of Europe's main cities.
Other premises that are no longer owned by Citroën, such as the building on the rue Marbeuf, the Magasin de I'Europe at Saint-Lazare or the building on Place de l'Opéra (all in Paris) also reflect the Brand's rich and eventful history.