Citroën H Van
The Citroën H-Type vans (but mostly Citroën HY), are a series of panel vans and light trucks, produced by French automaker Citroën for 34 years (from 1947 through 1981), that are memorable for their Industrial design, using many corrugated metal outer body panels, to save material, weight, and costs. Early models of the uniquely styled trucks were just named Type H, but soon they were differentiated by a second letter, using the last four letters in the alphabet – except for the type HP for (flat-bed) pickups. Thus the vans were built as the types HW through HZ – with the majority of them built as Citroën HY.
| Citroën H Van | |
|---|---|
Front 3/4 view showing spare wheel compartment: post 1969 model with rectangular rear wings and suicide doors | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Citroën |
| Production | 1947–1981 |
| Assembly | France: Paris Spain: Vigo (Centro de Vigo) |
| Designer | Flaminio Bertoni |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Light commercial vehicle (M) |
| Body style | 4- and 5-door panel vans; (flat-bed) pickup (type HP) |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Citroën TUB |
| Successor | Citroën C25 Citroën C35 |
The Citroën H-types were developed as simple, low-cost, front-wheel drive vans after World War II, using the same design philosophy as on Citroën's 2CV, but featuring a frameless, unitary body-structure. A total of 473,289 of their variants were produced in 34 years in factories in France and Belgium.