The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States.
82-458: The Renault Juvaquatre ( French: [ʒyvakatʁ] ) is a small family car / compact car produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1937 and 1960, although production stopped or slowed to a trickle during the war years . The Juvaquatre was produced as a sedan/saloon until 1948 when the plant switched its full attention to the new Renault 4CV. During the second half of 1952
164-609: A "coach" body). The steel body was welded into the chassis-platform in order to create what was for most purposes a monocoque body shell. Instead of perching on the front wings, the headlights, were integrated into the body, which was seen as a clear tribute to the Opel Olympia , although the idea of integrating headlights in this way had originated not with Opel but, in 1934, with the American Hupmobile Type 518 of 1934. A camionette (van) version of
246-465: A 4-door Juvaquatre (normally described in French-language sources as a "berline" bodied car) from April 1939. Perhaps 80 2-seater coupé bodied Juvaquatres were built between 1939 and 1946, of which most were based on the prewar model and produced in 1939 and 1940. There was probably an intention to resume production of the coupé after the war, but the tooling was never commissioned to produce
328-759: A 40% stake in Indian parcel firm DTDC and a similar stake in French parcel firm Colizen . The company also bought a 66% stake in freight forwarder Tigers. Via its joint venture with Swiss Post , Asendia , the Group acquired Pitney Bowes’ international mail business operations in the UK, and a 40% stake in Irish e-commerce firm eShopWorld. In December 2016, La Poste launched a regular delivery line by drones to deliver to isolated companies in secluded areas of France. La Poste
410-451: A car with four doors and a more modern engine, while the Simca 8 , essentially a rebadged, locally assembled Fiat, appeared at the 1937 show already with hydraulic brakes, a four-speed gear box and independent front suspension, advertised at a sticker price of 23,900 francs for the four-door "Normale" sedan/saloon. Half a class up, the front-wheel-drive 7CV Amilcar Compound , was advertised at
492-686: A large margin. According to 2011 sales, compact cars are currently the second segment in Europe after the subcompact one (which in Europe corresponds to A-segment + B-segment ), with approximately 3 million units sold. Because of the Volkswagen Golf 's definition and long standing dominance of this class it is often referred to as the "Golf segment" in much of Europe. Mainstream compact sedans began falling in popularity since 1990s, when Peugeot stopped production of 306 in 4-door saloon form, and also sharply declining since 2010s, as well as
574-402: A length of approximately 4.5 metres (15 ft). As of 2021 C-segment category size span from approx. 4.2m to 4.6m Examples include Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus, Citroën C4, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, BMW 1 Series, Audi A3, Škoda Scala, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. The most common body styles for C-segment cars in Europe are hatchbacks , and much less sedans and wagons/estates . In 2020
656-534: A private company, many post offices would close, rural areas would be neglected and stamps would be more expensive. Supporters of privatisation claimed that it would help solving the debt (€5.8 billion in 2009) and contain the rise of prices. In 2013 La Poste invested around €1 billion in renovating post offices, modernising infrastructure and reinforcing its network, along with the purchase of electric delivery vehicles. Acquisitions included more Seur franchises in Spain,
738-581: A public-owned company limited by shares in 2010. La Poste is part of the Groupe La Poste, which also comprises a bank and insurance company ( La Banque postale ), a logistics service company ( DPDgroup ) and a mobile network operator (La Poste Mobile). Although its postal activities are declining because of the development of the Internet , they still represented half of the company's income. Other activities, such as parcel delivery and banking, are on
820-461: A selection of major Renault distributors who were invited to submit the cars to technical and customer appraisals. On the basis of the reports received following this exercise the engineers at Renault's Billancourt plant were able to apply the necessary modifications before volume production of the "AEB2" got underway in April 1938. On the publicity front, a non-stop endurance run was organised during
902-666: A traditional saloon of this size though, with Volkswagen using the Golf as the base for its Jetta saloon, and Ford launching the Escort-based Orion in 1983. Also in the 1980s saloons became popular again in certain Western European markets, often with a different model name than the hatchback, for example the Renault 9 (Renault 11-based), Fiat Regata (Ritmo-based) and SEAT Málaga . Some carmakers later created
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#1732802271065984-600: Is because premium cars are included. From 2013–2018 premium cars had separate count, and are not included in mainstream total sales. Premium brands and models are marked italic . Electric cars are included in C-segment from 2020. year. 2019 – The compact car segment in Europe sees 5% fewer deliveries in 2019, as Europe’s #2 segment is down to 2.65 million sales, or 16.9% of the total European car market, down from 18% in 2018. 2020 – Sales of compact cars in Europe are down 24% to 2.03 million in 2020, perfectly in line with
1066-699: Is by far the largest provider for mail delivery in France. It treated 15 billion messages in 2012, of which 97% implied an administration or a firm. Relations with customers only represented 55% of the company's revenue (55% for business relations ; 16% for advertisement). International mail delivery accounted for 7% of the 2012 revenue. The same year, Swiss Post and La Poste launched a joint company, Asendia , to merge their international mail activities. La Poste offers three different rates for sending mail in France: first-class, second-class and green letter. The latter
1148-414: Is the end of official production (until after the war) but a very small series was still turned out until 1942, and in 1943, 1944, and 1945, the occasional car was assembled for the occupation forces or for French government use. Juvaquatre production formally restarted in 1946, with Renault now owned and controlled by the French government. There was no sign of the two-door saloon/sedan "coach" bodied car,
1230-402: Is the main colour of the French post since the 1960s. Previously, postal vans used to be green and post boxes blue. Yellow was chosen because it is a colour that is easily seen and because it can symbolise speed and light. The logotype of La Poste was created by poster designer Guy Georget. It represents a bird, often called the "postal bird" ("l'oiseau postal"), symbolising a messenger. Its design
1312-460: Is the second biggest provider for parcel delivery in Europe, with a 15% share of the market and a €5 billion revenue. In 2017, Geopost expanded its activities in Italy, Russia, Brazil and Vietnam. In 2015 La Poste invested €22 million into Stuart Delivery before it was officially launched. In 2017 La Poste brought Stuart Delivery owing 100% of the shares Stuart Delivery is a subsidiary of
1394-555: The Fiat 124 and Fiat 125 ) and Lada Samara (since 1984) were very popular in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. The modern-day Lada 's compact cars are Lada Priora and Lada Vesta . There was also the lineup of the AZLK -factory, Moskvitch (from 1947 to 2003): 400 , 402 , 408 , 412 , Izh 2125 (the first Soviet hatchback ), 2140 and Aleko . At the start of
1476-572: The Ford Escort , Vauxhall Viva , Austin Allegro and Hillman Avenger were still only available as saloons or estates, although some cars of this size, like the BMC/BL 1100 and 1300 saloons and Italy's Fiat 128 featured front-wheel drive from their launch during the 1960s. The C-segment was revolutionized in 1974 with the launch of the Volkswagen Golf , a front-wheel drive hatchback, which
1558-492: The Renault 4CV (which was France's top selling car in the post- Second World War years). However, there was no estate version of the rear engined 4CV or Dauphine, and the Juvaquatre "Dauphinoise" station wagon remained in production until replaced by the Renault 4 in 1960. The Juvaquatre was originally conceived in 1936 by Louis Renault as a small, affordable car designed to occupy the 6CV car tax class and to fit in
1640-487: The United Kingdom had already separated its national telephone company from its postal services in 1981. Most of the other member states did the same in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Trade unions organised several strikes but the law was adopted in 1990. La Poste and France Télécom were officially created on 1 January 1991. The two had the status of " autonomous operators under public law ". While France Telecom
1722-537: The ferme générale in 1719. International treaties regarding postal services were signed with neighbouring countries under Louis XIV . During the French Revolution French postal services progressively became a fully public service. Directors of post offices lost their privileges in 1789 and their position became subject to universal suffrage . The ferme générale was abolished two years later and post offices started to be directly administered by
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#17328022710651804-642: The liftback bodystyle like the Peugeot 309 , which replaced the Talbot Horizon in this sector at the end of 1985. Since the mid-1990s, premium brands usually associated with larger and more expensive cars have entered the C-segment with more affordable hatchbacks and saloons. The first such example was the Audi A3 in 1996. Subsequent cars of this type include the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz A-Class . In
1886-546: The 1960s, the post war economic boom had produced customers who wanted something of intermediate size. These were usually saloons during the 1950s and 1960s. The world's first hatchback , the 1958 FR layout Austin A40 Farina Countryman model that was a co-development of BMC and the Italian design house Pininfarina at a time when this was unusual. It had a lift up rear window and drop down boot lid. It
1968-617: The 1970 GS, Peugeot 304 and Renault 14 . During 1980s, Citroën replaced the GSA with the 1983 BX that was between the sizes of the small family car and large family car, in an attempt to cover both markets with single model. The Citroën ZX was the model which celebrated the entry of PSA Group (now Stellantis) in China during early 1990s. Cars of the Soviet/Russian brand Lada : VAZ-2101 , VAZ-2103 , VAZ-2106 , Lada Riva (based on
2050-534: The 1970s, the two most popular sectors of the UK market were small family cars and large family cars . From its launch in 1962, the BMC 1100/1300 was often Britain's best selling car; other locally produced compact cars included the Ford Escort , Vauxhall Viva and Hillman Avenger . Imported small family cars that were popular in the UK included the Citroën GS and Datsun Sunny 120Y . British Leyland replaced
2132-467: The 1980s, it became clear that the French PTT could not compete anymore in a country where communication was greatly increasing. The administration suffered from a constant lack of innovation and was dependent on political will and decisions. A division between postal and telecommunication services was suggested as early as 1974 in a report from the French parliament. However, changes in the structure of
2214-419: The 1st decade of 21st century, coupé convertibles (cabriolets) with components from these vehicles were being also built. Examples of this are the Peugeot 307 CC and later 308 CC in the first generation, third-generation Opel Astra TwinTop , second generation Ford Focus Coupe-Convertible , and Volkswagen Eos . Early successful compact family cars by French manufacturers are Citroën GS A hatch version of
2296-651: The BMC 1100/1300 with a variety of models: the 1969 Austin Maxi , the 1971 Morris Marina , and the 1973 Austin Allegro . A second-generation Ford Escort (jointly designed in Britain and Germany) was released in 1974. The same year, the German Volkswagen Golf front-wheel-drive hatchback was released, becoming one of the first significantly-imported small family cars in the UK market. The sporty "GTI" version of
2378-549: The DPD group and is operating in 86 cities across the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, and Portugal. On 6 December 2021 couriers in the UK for Stuart Delivery organising with IWGB started a strike. Stuart couriers told that they started the current strike after Stuart enforced a 24% pay cut in December 2021, which saw base pay rates slashed on most deliveries from £4.50 to £3.40. It is the longest gig work strike in UK history. In
2460-895: The European version of the Escort was replaced by the global Ford Focus MkI model. General Motors released the Vauxhall Astra Mk3 update in 1991 and the all-new Astra Mk4 in 1998. Rover Group introduced the Rover 200 Mk2 in 1989. The Rover 200 Mk3 was introduced in 1995, replacing the Honda Concerto-based Mk2 with a UK-designed car. La Poste (France) La Poste is a postal service company in France , operating in Metropolitan France ,
2542-513: The French government in 1879, giving birth to the P&;T ("Postes et télégraphes") which later became the PTT ("Postes, télégraphes et téléphones"). A French Ministry of Post and Telegraphs was created the same year. A national savings bank was opened in 1881 and added to the services provided by the P&T. The government took a monopoly over telephone services in 1889 and placed this responsibility under
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2624-680: The Golf sparked a huge demand for "hot hatches" in the UK and many other countries. The third-generation Vauxhall Viva was produced until late 1979, when it was replaced by the Vauxhall Astra (a rebadged Opel Kadett D which was initially produced in West Germany and Belgium). The Astra was part of a late-1970s transition in small family cars from being predominantly rear-wheel-drive saloons , to becoming front-wheel-drive hatchbacks (by then increasingly popular in mainland Europe). The Austin Allegro – introduced five years earlier –
2706-530: The Juvaquatre Break was valued for its dependability and low cost rather than for performance, and the new unit came with the bonus of a lower annual car tax bill now that the model was in the 4CV tax band . In 1956 the car moved back up a notch to the 5CV band when it received the bored out version of the same engine fitted at the back of the new Renault Dauphine . The connection with the Dauphine
2788-611: The Juvaquatre saloon at Flins finally ended in November 1951. The "Break Juva 4" (station wagon) remained in production, between 1950 and 1953 retaining the dashboard and side-valve 1,003 cc engine (albeit now enhanced by an air filter) of the prewar cars. From 1956 the old station wagon was fitted with the more modern engine from the Renault Dauphine and found itself rebranded as the Renault Dauphinoise. In
2870-402: The Juvaquatre was developed soon afterwards for commercial usage and was used extensively by La Poste . When the van version reappeared in 1948, after the war the "camionette" appellation for the little van was switched "fourgonette". Public demand for four-door cars, and the introduction of affordable 4-door models from the rival manufacturers Peugeot and Simca , led to the appearance of
2952-463: The Juvaquatre, since the rear engined configurations of Renault's post war small cars, the 4CV and the Dauphine made them far less suitable for conversion to the station wagon format than the front engined Juvaquatre. The four-cylinder water-cooled engine with which the Juvaquatre was launched in 1937 (and which continued to power the car till the mid 1950s) shared the 95 mm cylinder stroke of
3034-612: The Juvaquatres all now featuring four doors. There was very little to distinguish the first post-war Juvaquatres from the four-door saloon/sedan "berline" bodied version launched in 1939, but from the back there was now an opening hatch (boot/trunk lid) so that it was no longer necessary to clamber over two sets of seats in the passenger cabin in order to access the luggage compartment. The postwar Juvaquatres were produced during years of acute economic stringency, and were almost all earmarked for export. At Renault's Billancourt plant
3116-535: The Motor Show at an aggressive 21,700 Francs for a "coach-normal" (2-door base version) with independent front suspension. Despite its side-valve engine, the Amilcar was in several respect more technically ambitious than the other three cars identified here, but the manufacturer lost its independence in 1937 and the name would disappear in 1940. Ten years later, after a period of savage currency depreciation ,
3198-523: The P&T. The administration then became PTT and kept this name until 1959 when it became "Postes et Télécommunications", although the acronym PTT was kept. Postal cheques were created in 1918. The first airmail flight operated in 1912 between Nancy and Lunéville and a regular airmail network was put in place in 1935 through the "Air Bleu" company. Night airmail services started in 1939 on two lines: Paris - Bordeaux - Pau and Paris - Lyon - Marseille . Postcodes were introduced in France in 1964. In
3280-498: The PTT were opposed by trade unions who feared that employees could lose their status as civil servants . In 1988, under the premiership of Socialist Michel Rocard , a law was finally prepared to split the PTT and enable the government to get the services out of the public administration and to prepare for competition from private firms. Such a move was encouraged by the European Economic Community , and
3362-598: The Renault range below existing more upmarket models such as the Primaquatre and Celtaquatre . The company was focused on creating new customers who would not otherwise buy Renaults, and on appealing to the new class of lower-income consumer created by changing labor conditions and the rise of the Popular Front in France in the 1930s (which ironically had adversely affected Renault considerably). The Juvaquatre
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3444-567: The UK was the 1981 Triumph Acclaim , a licensed version of the four-door Honda Ballade with a Honda-designed engine. The Acclaim was replaced in 1984 by the Rover 200 . In late 1985 the Peugeot 309 became the first Peugeot to be built in the UK at the Ryton plant . Ford began the 1990s by replacing its 10-year-old Escort (and the Orion saloon version) with the Ford Escort MkV . In 1998,
3526-409: The UK, according to Corporate Watch Stuart Delivery made £41 million in profits from UK deliveries in 2021, over double the £20.5 million it had made in 2020. Stuart Delivery's UK accounts show an unnamed director was paid £2.2 million in 2020. In addition to postal services, La Poste also offers banking and insurance services (with La Banque Postale ) and, via Chronopost , courier services. After
3608-490: The absence of obvious direct competitors, it still sold steadily, with 13,262 produced in 1958 and 9,489 in 1959. The Dauphinoise continued to be listed until 1960, a few months before the appearance of the Renault 4 , in its final years sharing its engine with the Renault Dauphine . From the beginning until 1953, the car was classified as 6 CV due to its relatively large displacement of 1003 cc. From 1953 there
3690-420: The advertised prices had changed, but the relative positions of three competitors in the 6CV class had not. At the 1947 Paris Motor Show the Juvaquatre, now offering four doors and independent front suspension as standard, came with an advertised starting price of 260,000 Francs . The Peugeot 202, its showroom appeal now enhanced with the inclusion of a steel panel sun-roof, was priced at 303,600 Francs while
3772-473: The broadly similar engine that had powered the Renault Celtaquatre since 1934. On the Juvaquatre the cylinder bore (diameter was reduced to 58 mm, however, giving rise to an overall engine capacity of just 1003cc. The engine was a side-valve unit, and at launch a maximum power output of 23 hp (17 kW) was listed. Significantly, market dynamics dictated that Renault's Juvaquatre
3854-548: The closing days of March 1938: a Juvaquatre was driven flat out round and round the Montlhéry racing circuit (a short distance to the west of Paris), driven by a team of four drivers who took turns to cover a distance of 5,391 kilometers (3,350 miles) during 50 hours at an average speed which was computed at slightly under 109 km/h (68 mph). During the initial production phase, all Juvaquatres came as two doors saloons/sedans (sometimes described in francophone sources as
3936-467: The companies dealing with mail services only operate on a local scale, because they could not compete with the extremely wide network of offices that La Poste enjoyed throughout the country. La Poste became a public limited company in 2010. Although most of the Western European countries had fully privatised their postal service companies, public opinion in France was largely against such a move. A majority of French citizens feared that if La Poste becomes
4018-408: The components leading to misalignment of the wheels, featuring just three joints on each assembly and the transversely mounted leaf spring constituting the fourth flexible element of a simple parallelogramme structure. The rear wheels were attached using the tried and trusted combination of a rigid axle mounted with transverse leaf springs. The brakes on the Juvaquatre were mechanically controlled on
4100-431: The early cars, but Lockheed Corporation Hydraulic brakes were introduced in 1939. A feature of the French auto-market during the final years of the 1930s was the emergence of a modern category of small family cars in the 6CV taxation class , offering modern body designs clearly influenced by the streamlining fashion of that time. The Renault Juvaquatre was one of three major players in this category which, thanks to
4182-404: The emphasis was now on massive investment in tooling for mass production of the new 4CV , soon to become France's top selling car, and at this location production of the Juvaquatre stopped at the end of 1948. A small further batch of saloon/sedan bodied cars was produced during 1951 at the manufacturer's new plant at Flins where the Juvaquatre was the first model to be assembled. Production of
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#17328022710654264-705: The five French overseas departments and regions and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon . Under bilateral agreements, La Poste also has responsibility for mail services in Monaco through La Poste Monaco and in Andorra alongside the Spanish company Correos . The company was created in 1991 following the split of the French PTT , a government department responsible for mail, telegraph and telephone services in France. The PTT, founded in 1879,
4346-415: The front. Renault were the last of the "big 3" French automakers, in 1937, to offer independent front suspension on a passenger car: Peugeot had claimed a world first for independent front suspension in the volume car sector, with a 1931 upgrade for the Peugeot 201 , and Citroen had made a start back in 1934. The front suspension assemblies on the Juvaquatre were intended to minimize the risk of wear on
4428-435: The government, La Poste is the second largest employer in France. It also offers webmail, providing @laposte.net email addresses and hosting approximately 1.6 million active email accounts in 2007. More recently, the group has created a branch for communication counselling (Mediaprism), document exchange and archiving (Docapost), real estate (Poste Immo) and mobile telephony (La Poste Mobile, in partnership with SFR ). Yellow
4510-488: The highest selling C-segment cars in Europe were the Volkswagen Golf, Škoda Octavia, Ford Focus, Mercedes A-Class, Toyota Corolla, SEAT León, BMW 1-Series, Audi A3, Citroen C4, Peugeot 308, Renault Mégane, Kia Ceed, Opel Astra, Mercedes-Benz CLA and Volkswagen ID.3. 200,000 – 300,000 sales (Best-Selling) 100,000 – 200,000 sales 50,000 – 100,000 sales Notes: Jump in segment total sales after 2019. year
4592-408: The intervention of war, was still significant in the late 1940s. The Renault's side-valve engine positioned it at the bargain-basement end of the class, confirmed by an advertised starting price for the two-door sedan/saloon of 16,500 Francs at the 1937 Paris Motor Show . The Peugeot 202 was not exhibited at the 1937 show, but went on sale early in 1938 with a starting price of 21,300 Francs for
4674-548: The law and EU directives , the banking activities had to form a distinct subsidiary in 2006, called La Banque postale . It received the official status of a bank while it had remained a public savings bank until then. La Poste lost its monopoly on postal delivery in 2005. Since then, several competing firms have started businesses in France. Most of them only deliver parcels (for example, TNT Express , DHL Express and United Parcel Service ) or recorded letters, while mail delivery itself could not attract private companies. Most of
4756-399: The name on estate cars / Station Wagons so it is largely forgotten. This hatchback layout was further pioneered along with the European switch to front wheel drive FF layout with the smaller 1964 (Fiat) Autobianchi Primula . The modern C-segment market in Europe can be traced back to the 1968 launch of the Renault 6 , the first successful hatchback of this size. The hatchback bodystyle
4838-553: The necessary steel body-panels using heavy presses, which would have been necessary to produce the design in commercial volumes. According to one source a final batch of 30 coupés was produced between December 1945 and January 1946, while elsewhere it is recorded that production of this version was not resumed after the war . Nevertheless, one was still on display at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1948, adding to
4920-410: The overall market. And while Europeans bought more small crossovers than compact cars in the first three quarters of the year, in the full-year score the pecking order is returned to “normal”, with an advantage of 17,000 sales for the compact class. This result is mostly due to a wave of VW ID.3 (self)registrations, especially in December. We expect small crossovers to become Europe’s #2 segment in 2021 by
5002-480: The plant restarted production of the Juvaquatre sedans/saloons for a period of approximately five months. In 1950 a van based station wagon body joined the range; later models of the station wagon (from 1956 on) were known as the Renault Dauphinoise ( French: [dofinwaz] ). The sedan/saloon found itself overshadowed and was soon withdrawn from production after the appearance in 1946 of
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#17328022710655084-785: The rear-wheel-drive saloon format of the Mk2 with a hatchback and front-wheel drive. (A saloon version called the Ford Orion was added in 1983.) Only in 1983 was the Austin Allegro replaced by the Austin Maestro hatchback. In 1984, the Vauxhall Astra Mk2 hatchback/estate/cabriolet was released, alongside a saloon version called the Vauxhall Belmont . The first significant Japanese-designed compact car in
5166-697: The reduced sales of 4-door Ford Focus . During the late 1990s, compact MPVs increased in popularity as a competitor to the compact car, with models such as the Renault Scenic and the Citroën C4 Picasso becoming popular in Europe. By the early 2010s, demand for compact MPVs was declining, due to the rise of the compact SUV . After the Second World War, European manufacturers usually featured two vehicle types: small economy cars that were usually saloons and large saloons . By
5248-507: The rise. The two represented respectively a quarter of the company's income in 2017. During the Middle Ages , postal delivery in France was not organised by the state and was provided by private enterprise. University envoys dominated the market from 13th century onwards. In 1477, King Louis XI created coaching inns to deliver his own letters. These inns were for temporary use and usually led to battlefields. In 1576, royal mail delivery
5330-645: The state monopoly on mail delivery, postal orders were created in 1817 and postage stamps were introduced in 1849, nine years after they were invented in the United Kingdom . A rural service was implemented in 1830 with mail delivery in rural areas every two days. The delivery became daily from 1832. France was a founding member of the General Postal Union in 1874. The organisation became the Universal Postal Union in 1879. Post and telegraphs were united in one administration by
5412-440: The state. As a reaction to the commonplace opening of letters by the royal authorities, an oath of confidentiality became compulsory for post employees in 1790. The first French mail coach appeared in 1793 and the first telegram in the world was delivered in 1794 with the Chappe optical transmitter on the Paris - Lille line. After the Revolution, French postal services continued their modernisation. An 1801 decree reasserted
5494-419: The sticker price for a Simca 8 had risen to 330,000 Francs. The rate of Juvaquatre production decreased considerably with the onset of World War II , but remained high compared to other European marques who had switched over almost entirely to production of military equipment. After France was taken over by Nazi Germany , Juvaquatre production slowed to a trickle, with only a few hundred cars built 1941. This
5576-416: The variety on the Renault show stand and suggesting that at that stage it was still intended to produce more Juvaquatre coupés. A station wagon model based on the van, known initially simply as the "Renault Break 300 Kg" was launched only in 1950. This version, rebranded in 1956 as the "Renault Dauphinoise", would remain in production for nearly a decade after the withdrawal of the saloon/sedan versions of
5658-450: Was also sold as a two-door saloon. It was built in Italy by Innocenti as well as in the UK. For 1965 Innocenti designed a new single-piece rear door for their Combinata version of the Countryman. This top-hinged door used struts to hold it up over a wide cargo opening and was a true hatchback – a model never developed in the home (United Kingdom) market. The Countryman name has 'estate' type associations, and BMC successor company Rover used
5740-460: Was destined to spend more than ten years competing head to head with the Peugeot 202 which from the start came with a more efficient OHV power unit (and more power). The old side-valve unit was finally laid to rest in 1952 and the Juvaquatre Break (estate/station wagon) which was by now the only surviving Juvaquatre version received the smaller 747cc engine from the Renault 4CV. The overhead valve unit produced slightly less power than before, but
5822-408: Was first introduced by Renault with the 1964 Renault 16 , which was elected the 1965 Car of the year in Europe . A review in the English Motoring Illustrated in May 1965 stated: "The Renault Sixteen can thus be described as a large family car but one that is neither a four door saloon and nor is it quite an estate. But, importantly, it is a little different." Even the later similar-sized cars like
5904-463: Was front-wheel-drive, but was built in only saloon and estate body styles. Only the related Austin Maxi was a hatchback. The Hillman Avenger (marketed as a Chrysler Avenger 1976–1979 and as a Talbot Avenger 1979–1981) continued to sell well, in spite of the 1978 launch of the Talbot Horizon front-wheel-drive hatchback. The Ford Escort Mk3 went on sale in the autumn of 1980, replacing
5986-464: Was further improved with the creation of the office of royal envoy. Royal envoys were allowed to provide services to private individuals. They prefigured modern postal services and their existence led to the appearance of the first post offices at the end of the 16th century. The first set of fees appeared in 1627 for letters sent to Bordeaux , Lyon , Toulouse and Dijon . As with the rest of Europe, stamps did not exist in France at that time and mail
6068-544: Was heavily inspired by the German Opel Olympia , a car by which the patron had been impressed during a 1935 visit to Berlin . Consequently, the Juvaquatre, particularly early models, bore a strong resemblance to the Olympia. The Juvaquatre was showcased at the 1937 Paris Motor Show , on the opening day of which Louis Renault was photographed showing a Juvaquatre to President Lebrun . The motor show launch
6150-601: Was hugely successful all over Europe. Within a decade, most cars of this size in Europe were front-wheel drive hatchbacks. These included the Fiat Ritmo (Strada in the UK), Ford Escort (from the MK3 model launched in 1980), Opel Kadett ( Vauxhall Astra in the UK), Renault 11 , and the Talbot Horizon (originally a Chrysler / Simca until Peugeot took over Chrysler's European division in 1979). Most manufacturers still offered
6232-452: Was introduced in 2011 to provide an ecological alternative to the regular rates. It emits 15% less CO 2 than first-class letters. In 2012, it accounted for one in five priority letters (20 percent of priority letters). GeoPost grouped most parcel subsidiaries of La Poste Group. In France, the company provided two brands, Chronopost and DPD (formerly Exapaq ). Worldwide, the brands are DPD , Yurtiçi Kargo and Seur GeoPost. La Poste
6314-466: Was only the small engine with 747 cc, which promptly only produced 4 CV. From 1956 onwards, only a station wagon called "Dauphinoise" was offered, but its displacement increased again to 845 cc, which ensured that the car was now considered a 5 CV. Small family car In 2011, the C-segment had a European market share of 23%. The European segments are not based on size or weight criteria. In practice, C-segment cars have been described as having
6396-586: Was paid for by the recipient. The first map of post roads was published in 1632 and a book compiling lists of roads and inns including distances and fees to be paid was released in 1707. A new edition was released every two years until 1859. The country already had 623 coaching inns in 1632 and the figure reached 800 at the beginning of the 18th century. A ferme générale was created for mail services in 1672, which meant that postal services started to be subject to taxation. Tax officers progressively bought private postal companies and university envoys became subjects to
6478-501: Was part of a wider strategy to prepare for the start of volume production the next year. The first production prototype, identified as the "Juvaquatre AEB1", had been homologated with the relevant agency in February 1937. Four months later, in the early summer, Louis Renault gave orders for the construction of a batch of at least twenty preproduction prototypes identified as the "Juvaquatre AEB2". Most of these were handed over to
6560-481: Was privatised and floated on the stock exchange in 1997, La Poste has remained a public service. Since its creation, the company has had to face strong competition from the Internet . As a result, it has tried to innovate and diversify its activities. In 2000, it became a webmail provider and created GeoPost , its logistics and parcel delivery subsidiary. The following year, it released its online trading platform to reinforce its online banking services. To comply with
6642-419: Was stressed by the rebranding of the Juvaquatre Break which was now christened the Renault Dauphinoise . The engine size was now 845cc and listed maximum power was up to 26 hp (19 kW) (SAE). Power was transmitted from the front-mounted engine to the rear wheels via a traditional three-speed manual gear box, with synchromesh on the upper two ratios. The Juvaquatre featured independent suspension at
6724-479: Was then divided between La Poste, which became responsible for postal service, and France Télécom (nowadays Orange ) for the telecommunication services. France Télécom was immediately privatised but La Poste has remained a public company. However, in 1997 EU directive 97/67/EC required member states to "fully open the postal sector to competition", with the result that the French government allowed private postal service companies in 2005 and transformed La Poste into
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