The Citroën C1 is a
city car
The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined.
A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market in ...
marketed by
Citroën
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
from June 2005
to January 2022,
originally developed as part of the
B-Zero
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic s.r.o., also known by its initials TMMCZ, is a Czech automobile manufacturer headquartered in Kolín, Czech Republic. It was originally established in 2002 by the Toyota Motor Corporation and the PSA Gro ...
project by
PSA Peugeot Citroën
The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
in a joint venture with
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, with two generations produced.
The C1 was developed along with two
badge engineered
In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a manu ...
variants, the
Peugeot 107
The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by French automaker Peugeot, launched in June 2005, and produced until 2014.
The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota A ...
, which is mostly identical to the C1 aside from its front bumper fascia and front and rear lights, and the
Toyota Aygo
The Toyota Aygo is a city car ( A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relat ...
, which is slightly more differentiated. The three siblings debuted at the
2005 Geneva Motor Show and were manufactured at the facilities of the
TPCA joint venture (Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile) in the city of
Kolín
Kolín (; german: Kolin, Neu Kolin, Collin) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.
Administra ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
.
First generation (PM/PN; 2005)
The C1 is powered by a 1.0 L three cylinder engine, which has a fuel economy of 61.4 mpg (UK gallons EU method; 4.6 L/100 km EU method; ca 43.4 mpg US with US method) or a 1.4 L four cylinder diesel engine which has a fuel economy of 68.9 mpg (UK gallons EU method; 4.1 L/100 km EU method; ca 48.8 mpg US with US method).
The body was designed by
Donato Coco
Donato Coco is an Italian car designer born in Foggia, Italy in 1956. He is known for designing automobiles for Citroën, but even more well-known for designing some of Ferrari's recent cars.
Coco was Lotus Head of Design from 2009 to November 20 ...
in a
one-box configuration. On both the five door C1 and 107, though not the Aygo, the rear tail light cluster extends from the edge of the rear doors to the rear window, without a distinctly expressed "
C-pillar
The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style (such as four-door sedans) are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the ''A, B, C'' and (in larger cars such as 4-door stat ...
".
According to the German magazine ''
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'', the C1 is the production car with the second-best fuel economy both among petrol engines (after the
Toyota Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...
)
and among diesel engines (after the
Smart Fortwo mhd).
In January 2010,
PSA Peugeot Citroën
The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
announced that it was recalling around 100,000 of the C1 and Peugeot 107, following the
worldwide recall by Toyota for a sticking accelerator pedal – which the Aygo is affected by. Under certain circumstances, the pedal can stick in a partially depressed position, or return slowly to the off position.
File:2008 Citroen C1 Rhythm 1.0 Rear.jpg, Rear view (pre-facelift)
File:Citroen C1 2.JPG, Interior (facelift)
Trim range (United Kingdom)
* Vibe, available in three-door or five-door, this was the basic model and the cheapest. Did not come with central locking, a rev counter, air conditioning or electric windows. Only available with the 1.0i engine.
* Rhythm, available in three-door or five-door, this trim added remote central locking, body-coloured wing mirrors, two side airbags and an engine rev counter. The 1.4 HDi diesel and the 1.0i petrol engines were both available with this trim.
* Code, available in three-door or five-door, added to the Rhythm specification by including 14 inch alloy wheels, half leather-trimmed seats, chrome interior trim inserts and a glove box cover. The 1.4 HDi diesel and the 1.0i petrol engines were both available with this trim.
;Special editions (United Kingdom)
* Cool – based on the Vibe, adding air conditioning and blue seat fabrics/dashboard inserts, available in Lipizan White or Damas Blue.
* Airplay – based on the Rhythm, adding full iPod connectivity, iPod cradle, a 4 GB
iPod Nano
The iPod Nano (stylised and marketed as iPod nano) is a discontinued portable media player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. The first generation model was introduced on September 7, 2005, as a replacement for the iPod Mini, using ...
and coloured dashboard inserts and door pulls. Early models were available with bright, swirling decals. This model was originally revealed at the 2006
British International Motor Show
The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events.
Initially held in London at Th ...
in July 2006.
Designer
Franco Sbarro created a modified C1 named the GT-C1, a design concept that follows the same theme of his previous
Citroën Xsara Picasso
The Citroën Xsara Picasso is a car produced by Citroën from 1999 to 2012. It has a five-seater five-door compact MPV design.
Trim range
At the time of its release, two trim levels were available, LX and SX. Later designations were 'Desire', ...
Cup Concept. The extreme bodywork feature very wide wheels and
gullwing doors
In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door, also known as a falcon-wing door or an up-door, is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, first as a race car in 1952 ( W194), and then a ...
alongside a modified 1.6L engine from the
Citroën C2 VTS and
Citroën C4 WRC-derived brakes.
In
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, a commercial van version called the Entreprise is offered, equipped with the 1.4L diesel engine and available only in the three-door body, for urban use. Its 107 sibling also offers an identical version.
In the United Kingdom, the now-defunct
Electric Car Corporation sold an
electric car
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
based on the C1, called the
Citroën C1 ev'ie
The Citroën C1 ev'ie is an electric car conversion from a standard Citroën C1 by the now defunct Electric Car Corporation. The model was first released on 30 April 2009, with a 2010 list price of £19,860 ($30,890 US) this makes the C1 ev'ie ...
from 2009 to 2012.
2009 facelift
In January 2009, the Citroën C1 was
facelifted at the same time as the
Peugeot 107
The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by French automaker Peugeot, launched in June 2005, and produced until 2014.
The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota A ...
and
Toyota Aygo
The Toyota Aygo is a city car ( A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relat ...
.
The updated C1 features a revised front bumper and grille, in keeping with Citroën's family look. Three new colours were also added and trim levels were also revised: basic Vibe models became 'VT', and Rhythm became 'VTR'. More durable seat fabrics were used and ventilation control graphics were updated for better legibility, and all models received new wheel trims.
A special edition "Splash" was available at launch, though this was a strictly limited edition. This was based on the basic "VT". However, it featured air conditioning, a CD player and electric front windows. The Splash model was available in Electra Blue or Lipizan White. Electra Blue came with white door mirrors, whilst Lipizan White came with glossy black door mirrors.
2012 facelift
![2012 Citroen C1 VTR+ facelift 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/2012_Citroen_C1_VTR%2B_facelift_1.0_Rear.jpg)
Citroën made a further facelift in March 2012. Changes included revised bumper, bonnet, steering wheel and CD player; LED daytime running lights, a new blue paint "Botticelli Blue", and improved fuel economy.
Two new trims were added to the facelift C1 range – Platinum and Edition, both came with alloy wheels, foglights, and a leather steering wheel and gearstick as standard while Platinum added a spoiler and chrome interior trim. VTR+ became the entry level trim when these were introduced.
From 2012 to 2014, The car was rebranded as the ''Citroën C1 eco'' for the Greek market.
Engines
Reliability
Breakdown statistics reported by the
German Automobile Club in May 2010 placed the Citroën C1 (which the data grouped with the
Peugeot 107
The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by French automaker Peugeot, launched in June 2005, and produced until 2014.
The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota A ...
and
Toyota Aygo
The Toyota Aygo is a city car ( A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relat ...
) at the top of the sub small car class, in respect of the low breakdown rates achieved for cars aged between one and four years.
Class laggards were the
Chevrolet Matiz
The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대 ...
(0–3-year-old cars) and the
Smart Fortwo (4–5-year-old cars
[).
]
Safety
The Euro NCAP
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February ...
score was reduced from 4 stars to 3 stars for the 2012 facelift.
Second generation (2014)
At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, Citroën presented a redesigned C1, also to be manufactured at a factory of the Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile Czech (TPCA) in a joint venture with the Peugeot 108
The Peugeot 108 is a city car launched by French manufacturer Peugeot in March 2014 at the Geneva Motor Show. The 108 is related to the Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo, and shares their floorpan, engines, transmission and electrics. Sales commenced in ...
and Toyota Aygo
The Toyota Aygo is a city car ( A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relat ...
. A fixed-profile cabriolet model named Airscape was introduced with a folding canvas roof, available in both 3 and 5-door configurations.
Engines
Safety
Discontinuation
The next-generation C1 was planned to be released in March 2021 based on the TNGA-B platform, when the plan was cancelled. The TPCA joint venture announced the discontinuation of the Citroën C1 and Peugeot 108 for 2021, while the Toyota Aygo will continue to the third-generation. The production was stopped in January 2022, after almost 1.2 million vehicles were produced (both generations included).
Sales
See also
* Citroën C1 ev'ie
The Citroën C1 ev'ie is an electric car conversion from a standard Citroën C1 by the now defunct Electric Car Corporation. The model was first released on 30 April 2009, with a 2010 list price of £19,860 ($30,890 US) this makes the C1 ev'ie ...
— an electric vehicle conversion of the C1
References
External links
Citroën C1 Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citroën C1
C1
Cars introduced in 2005
Cars of the Czech Republic
City cars
Euro NCAP superminis
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Hatchbacks
2010s cars