Citroen will abandon small and large cars to focus on profitability

The French company will drop the C5 X to focus on mid-size models; the Ami quadricycle will get a reprieve.

The French company will drop the C5 X to focus on mid-size models; the Ami quad will get a reprieve.

Citroën has eliminated small and large cars from its future lineup and will instead focus on vehicles in the largest European segments. Speaking to Autocar, chief executive Thierry Coscas said the brand «should be in the main segments, not niche». This effectively confirms that the future lineup will start with the C3 in the B segment, with the Ami below it, and end with the C5 Aircross in the C segment.

The C5 Aircross will be the C5 Aircross of the C segment.

Coskas said Citroën has no plans to replace the C1 model because of its inability to make it profitable, and in fact ruled out replacing the C5 X in the D segment, which is «not bad but in a non-existent segment». He added: «Citroën should be in the B and C segments because that is the heart of the brand».

Citroën should be in the B and C segments because that is the heart of the brand.

Talking about smaller models, Koskas said there is «a big gap between the Ami and the new ë-C3 for electric objects» priced between €10,000 and €20,000, but the question of filling it «is not so easy». «We don’t have any plans at the moment, but the question is how to fill it», — he said.

He said.

«If you go to the A-segment [with the C1 replacement], you expect to pay less than in the B-segment, but the production costs are the same for us». To keep costs down, Citroën will use its new value-oriented Smart Car platform for future models in these major segments.

Citroën will use its new Smart Car platform for future models in these major segments.

This architecture, which was introduced on the new C3, consists of fewer parts, so it’s cheaper and easier to produce.

Koskas says future Citroëns won’t be conventional hatchbacks or SUVs because «it’s in Citroën’s DNA to offer new things». Instead, the brand will introduce «new shapes that don’t exist» on future models. «We will take risks, we need to shake up the market and Citroën can do that», — Koskas added. «We will do it in the B and C segments, which make up the vast majority of the European market. That’s where we need to be».

And that’s where we need to be.