Citroën half-heartedly assumes its new low-cost positioning

“The cost of cars is increasing, but the amount people can spend on cars is not increasing”noted Thierry Koskas, general director of the Citroën brand, during a press conference, reports Coach. He therefore considers it necessary to “return to a well-equipped product but still simple and essential”.

The news Citroën C3 and its SUV counterpart C3 Aircross have already followed this logic by adopting the low-cost Smart Car platform, originally developed in India for the C3 sold locally and in other markets in Asia and Latin America. The new generations of C3 and C3 Aircross have thus been able to lower their prices, a rare phenomenon in the automobile industry, but which is accompanied here by some sacrifices. “If you look at what people expect from this segment, it doesn't have to be ubiquitous technology.”estimates Thierry Koskas, who recognizes having followed an approach similar to that of Dacia, by first setting the cost, then allocating a budget to each individual component.

The next truly low-cost C4?

This approach could now be applied to the compact C4, which is already based on a CMP platform originally developed for the lower segment and whose recent restyling has seen some further savings. Thierry Koskas does not rule out the use of the Smart Car platform for the next generation of the model, explaining that it is “a direction we would like to explore”.

The low-cost positioning of the C3 and C3 Aircross, which Citroën has never recognized as such, could therefore be applied to other segments. Thierry Koskas believes that this could be a new trend in the industry. “It’s not a direction that all brands will take, but there will be a place in the market and where we want to be”.

If we can only rejoice at the arrival of more accessible models from Citroën, let us hope that the manufacturer's domain, already well encroached upon by those of Peugeot and DS, is not reduced to this positioning.