Thierry Koskas has been brand CEO of Citroen for just over a year. In that time, he has clarified the positioning of the brand, with it wanting to be daring, with key values which are comfort, making simple products, and sustainability.
Koskas told us that Citroen is in the process of a complete renewal of its line-up, with the new C3 and E-C3, C3 Aircross and E-C3 Aircross launched this year. Next year it will have a heavy facelift for the C4, and a new C5 Aircross in 2025.
With this model renewal, Koskas explained the overall ambition for Citroen is to be at 5% market share for cars and vans in Europe. He said: “So far we are at 3.8%, and are very happy to gain market share, which we believe is perfectly doable considering the new range line-up. In addition, our aim is one million cars sold, so that will roughly be 700,000 in Europe and 300,000 outside of Europe – including Latin America.
“There will be further ‘breakthrough’ models, models that don’t exist in the market, which is very much in the DNA of Citroen, that arrive later. After the model range has been refreshed, the idea is to keep the line-up fairly simple. We can achieve the 5% with the car and van models already launched.
“The ’Smart Car’ platform is super-efficient, and that enables Citroen to make some very affordable EVs, with all the equipment needed. We are not at the end of what this platform can do, and there are many more possibilities.”
Wide appeal
According to Koskas, an advantage for the Citroen brand is its appeal to a wide range of customers.
He said: “We are sometimes asked how we compare with brands such as Dacia, that we are facing in terms of price – but the scope of Citroen is wider, because we go heavily to B2B and fleets, and this is a key point for us. Plus, we also have commercials on top of cars.
“Fleet is key for us, both at local and corporate levels. We insist and push our dealers a lot, so they focus on local fleets – this is because we have many products that a fleet and company would need.
“Corporate accounts are also key for us, we have big corporate accounts in many countries, so it is both.”
With new products such as the C3 and E-C3, we went on to ask if there should be some re-learning of Citroen as a brand, and its new models?
Koskas said: “I think there is clearly a need for some corporates to learn to love the Citroen brand again. Which means that one of the key points is to go back on the shopping lists of some corporate clients – where we may have disappeared.
“This might be because they prefer other products, and frankly with the new C3, C3 Aircross, the facelifted C4, and the future C5 Aircross, we will have four products that are very attractive to the corporate market. They should be on the shopping lists of user choosers, that are able to choose between Citroen and other brands.
“I’m not saying that we’re not doing well in B2B, but it is a key direction for us, and one of the key parameters is go back on the shopping lists of everyone. Citroen is an alternative to any other brands.
“Residual value is a key factor that we’re monitoring all the time. On C3 and C3 Aircross, because of the pricing policy, we have high expectations in terms of residual value.
“If you start with a car that won’t be discounted for B2B and B2C, the objective is to have the residual value even higher in percentage terms compared to the current generation.”
