The Citroën Type A was the first car produced by Citroën from June 1919 to December 1921 in Paris. The Type A reached a production number of 24,093 vehicles.
During World War I, André Citroën was producing munitions. As early as 1917, Citroën investigated the development of a light car of the medium range under the direction of Jules Salomon.
Under the designation 10 HP Type A the car had a water-cooled 1327 cc four-cylinder engine and an output of 18 hp (13 kW). Its maximum speed was 65 km/h (40 mph). The chassis had inverted quarter ellipic springs at the front and double quarter elliptics at the rear. Braking was on the rear wheels only controlled by a hand lever with a foot pedal operated transmission brake.
The chassis was made in two lengths and carried a variety of coachwork. The long chassis was available as Torpedo (four-seat tourer), Torpedo Sport, Conduite Intérieure, Coupe de Ville and light truck and the short chassis with Torpedo (3-seat), Conduite Intérieure, Coupe de Ville and camionnette (van).
In its first year of production, the standard Type A cost 7,950 francs. One year later the selling price had been raised to 12,500 francs.
With a production rate of 100 vehicles a day, Citroën became the first mass production manufacturer in Europe