Although sales in Europe continued to decline in the first half of the year, the brand performed much better internationally, with excellent performances in both Asia and Latin America. This should facilitate the rebalancing of the brand's sales and make it easier to achieve the target.
As the brand's new boss recently reiterated, the short-term objective is for Citroën's sales to be split 70% in Europe and 30% in three main regions: Asia with India and Indonesia, Latin America with Brazil and the Middle East and Africa with Turkey.
Indeed, it is in Turkey that the brand's sales have experienced one of the strongest rebounds in this first half, where they have exceeded sales for the whole of 2022, if the performance is to be highlighted. With more than 30,000 units sold in the first half of the year, Citroën's sales in Turkey rebounded very strongly and allowed the brand to enter the top 5 in terms of sales. These excellent results even made Turkey the brand's second largest market after France for the months of May and June.
In Greece, Citroën's sales also increased significantly in the first half of the year, putting the brand back in the top 5 in terms of sales, thanks in particular to the C3, which had an excellent month, and the C4 X, whose sales in June made it the best-selling Citroën for the month.
In Latin America, Citroën's sales are also experiencing a strong recovery, most notably in Uruguay, where the brand's sales rose by more than 200% in a stable market, albeit on very modest volumes, thanks to the new C3 launched in Uruguay at the beginning of the year. In Colombia, Citroën's sales are also growing strongly thanks to both the C4 Cactus and the C3, allowing the brand to increase its sales by more than 42% in a declining market. This has enabled Citroën to move closer to its target of breaking into the top 10. Finally, in Brazil, thanks to the new C3, sales are also up by almost 24%, well ahead of the market, allowing Citroën to gain market share and positions in the rankings.
In Asia, Citroën recorded its strongest growth in India in the first half of the year, but the comparison base distorts the results as the brand only launched the C3 in July 2012, having previously only offered the C5 Aircross and in very low volumes. In Japan, Citroën's sales recovered with a 12% increase after a busy six months, particularly for the Berlingo, which is slightly below the market's growth rate but allows the brand to perform better than the Stellantis group.
In conclusion, Citroën's sales are weak in France and Europe, with declining performance, but the brand is still able to achieve excellent results almost everywhere in the world, particularly in the three regions expected to show the strongest growth over the next few years, namely Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, the same three regions where Citroën is already on the rise in this first half.