Citroen announces Aussie product onslaught

Citroen CEO Linda Jackson has announced the famous French mark will shift its attention from SUVs to a range of hatchbacks and sedans as the brand pushes ahead to grow volume from 1.1 million vehicles annually to 1.6 million by 2020.

Speaking to Australian journalists at the Paris motor show yesterday, Jackson confirmed how markets like Australia will help realise her plans for a sales recovery.

Jackson said that once Citroen had launched the all-new C5 Aircross SUV in Europe and Down Under, the car-maker would begin working on its "Core Model strategy", which involves introducing small, medium and large hatchbacks and sedans.

Admitting that replacements for the C4 hatch and C5 were both well overdue, Citroen’s global boss said that until now the French car-maker’s priorities were to focus on replacing its best-selling C3 and introducing SUVs to revitalise underperforming markets like Australia.

"When I joined as CEO in 2014 we had just separated from DS. I decided to replace the product range in three steps,” said Jackson.

"First, replace the C3, which was our global best-seller. The second was introduce SUVs because whichever market you're in, you have to have an SUV.

"The third stage is the replacement of the hatches and the big saloons (sedans), because it's important to understand we're not just going to have SUVs, but also small, medium, large cars as we need them for different parts of the world."

According to Jackson, Citroen will launch one car, per global region per year. Since Citroen operates in around six different regions this could see a product offensive that sees up to six cars launched a year.

As well as offering more models, Jackson says relaunching the brand in markets like Australia will help generate those extra 500,000 annual sales Citroen is aiming for.

To ensure Citroen is successful in one of the world's most competitive markets, Jackson says she will implement another three-step plan.

"We need to have the right vehicles for Australia and, obviously, SUVs such as the C3 Aircross and the C5 Aircross tick the box for relevance.

"Next, we have something different to offer – take the C5 Aircross as an example. It has the looks of an SUV with the modularity and space of an MPV inside.

"I think the other thing we are really working on is to increase the awareness of Citroen but to also increase the quality of the products and the service and that's something we're working on," said Jackson, before admitting the task ahead won't be easy.

Under new importer Inchcape's management, Citroen’s Australian dealer network has already been streamlined from 72 dealers to 34 combined sites that all measure up to the new standard of quality implement by the CEO.

Jackson says she's careful not to underestimate the task ahead: "I'm not stupid – I know that in the past we might have had problems in terms of quality.

“We need to make sure when we launch the vehicles we have the best possibility to be able to prove we have quality vehicles and can provide the best service."

In the future, Citroen's global sales network could be monitored by the French car marque's new Trip Advisor-style app that's been launched in France.

The system allows real feedback — both good and bad — from customers to help identify dealers excelling in high-quality service and alert the car-maker of those who are failing.

Jackson: "I can have the most fantastic cars but if I don't have the quality and the customer experience, then I'm dead."