PSA Peugeot-Citroën is now a global brand except in North America, having expanded rapidly into the European, Asian and Latin American markets. Since forming the Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile Limited (DPCA) JV in the early 1990s, Citroën has stepped-up its manufacturing output dramatically to become a key player on the international stage.

Citroën targets international development

Citroën continued to grow internationally in 2013, recording a 2.1% increase in worldwide sales in the second half of the year, and a 4.9% rise in the fourth quarter. A 14% rise in sales to markets outside of Europe allowed the brand to offset the financial instability of the European economy, and end-of-year global sales for the brand totalled 1,266,000 units.

With 410,000 sales since launch (120,000 in 2013), the DS line represents strong growth potential for Citroën, both in the international market and in Europe, where it accounts for 18% of all Citroën’s passenger cars sold.

In the UK, the DS line accounts for 35% of the brand’s passenger car sales, while in Spain, the DS line is also performing well, capturing some 11,000 orders for the DS3 Cabrio since launch in January 2013.

Representing the importance of the DS line to the brand, DS World Shanghai opened in March 2013 – the first international flagship devoted entirely to the DS line. The key words at the Citroën showcase in Asia are ‘refinement, customisation and French craftsmanship’; a strategy that helped Citroën enjoy sales superior to the market growth in 2013 (up 26.3% in a market up 19.1%).

Dongfeng launched the new Citroën C-Elysée, made locally at the Wuhan 3 plant, in September 2013, and extended Citroën’s offering in the C segment. This segment accounts for one in two passenger cars sold in China and has shown the strongest growth (more than 25%) since the start of the year. China is now Citroën’s number one market in terms of invoices.

The C-Quatre and C4 L also enjoyed popularity with Chinese motorists, accounting for 55% of the joint venture’s sales, whose growth (23.9%) outpaced that of the Chinese automotive market in 2013.

Citroën cites the international launches of the C-Elysée and C4 L as driving factors in its sales uplift, with the success of the Elysée in Algeria, North Africa, helping to increase Citroën’s share in that market by one point alone.

C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso also performed well in the global market, with 58,000 orders placed in 2013. Citroën says these cars mark a generational leap (new EMP2 platform, low CO2 emissions, strong design and innovative technologies) and illustrate the brand’s move upmarket (70% of orders for top two trim levels).

More to come…

Citroën’s strong momentum is set to continue in 2014, with eight new launches planned as it seeks to continue growth of its DS Line while redefining its core product line-up.

In Europe, the C4 Cactus will offer an additional low-cost option for the C-segment and an all-new C1 city car will follow, while the C-Elysée will continue to be targeted to emerging markets such as China, Brazil, North Africa and Russia. Citroën aims for sales of 100,000 units for the C-Elysée in 2014: 50,000 in China and 50,000 in the rest of the world.

Chinese customers will gain two locally-produced DS models – the DS 5LS, which is a luxury saloon based on the DS5, and an SUV. The former will become the second model of the standalone DS brand to be built at Citroen’s plant in Shenzen in China, and goes on sale in March 2014.

Efficient petrol and diesel engines are also in the pipeline. BlueHDi diesels will be available across the range by the end of the year, ready for Euro 6 emissions standards, which come into force for newly registered vehicles on 1 January 1st 2015. These feature a new after-treatment system in the exhaust to remove 90% of NOx emissions, almost eliminate particulate output and cut CO2 by between 2% and 4% compared to their predecessors.

Meanwhile, the three-cylinder PureTech petrol range will extend to include new turbocharged versions with power outputs of between 110 and 130hp. Built at the plant in Douvrin, France, these will first be fitted to the C4, which will emit 110g/km, followed by the C3 and DS3 which will emit 104g/km each.

Commenting on Citroën’s international performance, Frédéric Banzet, chief executive officer of Citroën, said: ‘Looking beyond our international development, the brand’s performances in 2013 confirm the validity of our product strategy.

‘First of all, with DS: a commercial success embodying the return of the French automobile to the premium segment. The strong positioning of this product line is such that we were able to make it a brand in China, where sales of the locally-produced DS5 have already exceeded our forecasts. We also want to bring customers bold design choices and differentiation with our core range.

‘The renewal of the C line began in 2013 with the launch of the New C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso, applauded by our customers and acknowledged by the international press in the shape of numerous awards. The brand will take things further in 2014, revealing a new model, the Citroën C4 Cactus, a true manifesto of our new core range.’

View from the top: 

Yves Bonnefort, deputy CEO of Citroën, explains how the new C4 Cactus offers a glimpse of a revitalised model range.

How will you position the C4 Cactus within the range?

This is a C-segment car – it’s addressing the largest segment in the world, and the only segment where we see some growth in Europe. So we want to diversify our offering. We have the C4, which will stay on the market, the C4 Cactus, the C4 Picasso and the C4 Aircross for the core range of Citroën and the DS4 as well. I’m often asked what the direct competitors of this car; it’s very difficult because there’s nothing like this on the market.

How will it influence other models?

Clearly our strategy is to have the two lines. After the success with DS we wanted to re-energise the core line so that’s what Cactus is about. We want no compromise on what is important to the customer, but we want an effective cost of ownership – this car will be 10% lower than the best competition. This logic will apply to all the products of the Citroën core range.

Will the C4 Cactus be sold outside Europe?

The car was designed very much for the European market; we did a lot of in depth market research to come to what is really important for European customers. If you asked me a year ago I would have said we have no plans to sell the car in China, but the feedback we’re getting is the car could be attractive to Chinese customers. So we are studying the opportunity to launch the car in China.