Citroën is preparing to embrace a low cost career for all its future models. A shock repositioning which will probably see the future C5 Aircross opposing the Dacia Duster.
Despite all the efforts made by Citroën in recent years to shine again in terms of comfort and driving pleasure, the brand has been steadily losing market share for more than a decade, both on its national market and ‘in Europe. A decline that has just cost his place to Vincent Cobée who, since 2019, has presided over the destiny of the Chevrons. This short period, particularly marked by a health crisis not conducive to commercial success, did not allow him to prove himself, Carlos Tavarès, the general manager of Stellantis, now preferring Thierry Koskas to lead Citroën. Too bad because, by Carlos Tavarès’ own admission, Vincent Cobée can be proud of having ” defined Citroën’s positioning within the Stellantis brand portfolio“. Unfortunately, he will not have had time to reap the fruits of his labor.
Stop procrastinating about the positioning of the Chevrons
Indeed, Citroën is preparing to enter a new era resolutely turned towards low cost. A logical repositioning for this emblem which has suffered from a very popular image for many years by dint of having abandoned high-end slots, despite the recent reintroduction of a C5, characterized by the letter X to signify its profile a bit enhanced. But the brand especially pays for its mistakes in the middle of the 2010s, in particular with the flop of the C4 Cactus, a compact sedan which only half assumed its low cost orientation, to the point of causing trouble within the customers, while at the same time Dacia was ramping up. Since then, Carlos Tavarès has banged his fist on the table so that Citroën finally assumes its cheap positioning, 20 years after the Romanian competitor’s launch into orbit, with the success that we know of.
The future Duster in sight
Starting this year, Citroën will reveal a new C3 Aircross, extrapolated from the C3 recently developed for the Indian market. It will be a much more generous SUV in size than the current one (4.16 m long), so much so that it will approach the size displayed by the contemporary Duster (4.34 m). But the latter will be entitled to a whole new generation next year, which should allow it to approach, or even exceed 4.40 m in length, making it a perfect target for the next C5 Aircross, expected in horizon 2025.
Less comfort, more rusticity
By renewing itself, the compact SUV could draw a definitive line on its current specificities (large soft seats, hydraulic shock absorbers, laminated glazing) to honor the brand’s low-cost shift, as announced by the Citroën Oli concept car in the fall. last. This study gave pride of place to a certain austerity mixed with practicality through simple but clever equipment, for those who advocate essentiality on board a car. In short, the values conveyed by Dacia for years.
A hybrid and 100% electric C5 Aircross
However, this new Citroën C5 Aircross will not totally vow asceticism, especially under the hood. If rechargeable hybridization is unlikely to be renewed, the light electrification 48 V of the new 1.2 PureTech of Stellantis origin has a good chance of being allocated to it, both in 100 hp and 136 hp versions. There will also be a question of a relatively modest 100% electric motorization in order to maintain canon prices compared to the competition. Precisely, the newcomer could drastically drop its prices with an entry-level potentially below the 25,000 € mark, when the current C5 Aircross claims nearly 30,000 €. See you in 2025 to testify or not to the accuracy of our predictions.
Also read on Auto-Moto.com:
Citroën changes boss, in a context of falling sales
Citroën C5 X test: 1000 km at the wheel of the raised sedan
All future Citroëns: a new inclusive Oli range?
