Citroën Car Production By Model : 1980-89

During 1979, Citroën manufactured 732,245 cars, so by 1989 only making 772,500 was disappointing. During the same period, Peugeot output was up about 50%. In 1979 four Citroën models exceeded 100,000 units but in 1989 only two could better 50,000. True those two (the AX and BX) were popular but basing the whole brand around two models isn't ideal. The CX started life in 1974, and the 2CV in 1949 and they were both still there in 1989!

So there were not many new models until later in the decade, while others just stayed too long. One good decision was to introduce the brand to China in 1984, a nation it has done well in. Below the chart there is a brief overview of new models for this period.

	Yr	AX	BX	XM	C15	2CV	CX
					Break
	1980	-	-	-	-	89,994	77,237
	1981	-	-	-	-	89,472	75,213
	1982	-	13,462	-	-	86,060	58,287
	1983	-	181,649	-	-	59,673	56,729
	1984	-	220,889	-	-	54,923	41,949
	1985	-	254,420	-	-	54,067	38,726
	1986	28,600	289,832	-	-	56,663	35,409
	1987	238,600	294,653	-	-	43,255	35,630
	1988	329,516	295,639	-	24,281	22,717	23,979
	1989	366,245	287,855	46,282	46,021	19,077	6,997
	Yr	Visa	Dyanne	Méhari	GS	LN	Total
						LNA
	1980	117,500	107,183	8,351	191,639	30,971	622,875
	1981	179,000	70,057	4,833	138,146	35,219	591,940
	1982	212,500	64,014	4,137	111,405	34,565	584,430
	1983	149,500	34,285	3,349	61,132	35,940	582,257
	1984	149,381	13,326	2,654	18,510	21,291	522,923
	1985	140,866	8,429	1,882	7,130	13,917	519,437
	1986	101,600	7,915	669	49	5,340	526,077
	1987	48,617	3,936	381	300	-	665,372
	1988	6,531	-	-	-	-	702,663
	1989	-	-	-	-	-	772,477

Data source: Freyssenet.com

AX: This super mini replaced both the Visa and LN/A models. It was light and aerodynamic which made it economical. It had clean lines too and was a popular car.

BX: It replaced the GS as the family car in the range. Again light, which helped performance and economy. It was roomy and had a very smooth ride. It also proved popular.

XM: An executive model which was Car of the Year in Europe in 1990 and had just arrived for this period. It went on to be quite successful.

C15 Break: This was a van based on the Visa model but was a tiny recreational vehicle as best I can tell. It sold in modest numbers but no doubt paid its way.

Summary: What Peugeot wanted from its acquisition of Citroën was presumably cost savings with sharing as much as it could with the two makes without simply badge-engineering.

Other years: 1945-59, 1960-69, 1970-79, 1990-99, 2000-09.