After many years in which the brand allowed the rumour of a low-cost positioning to spread, Citroën has finally clarified its future, indicating that if it is to offer more accessible prices, particularly for the electric C3, it will not become a low-cost brand, but a popular brand, simple and accessible, without forgetting what is its DNA, comfort and audacity.
In this quest for simplicity that the brand wants to embark on, Thierry Koskas, Citroën's new boss, has announced that from this summer the number of versions offered will be reduced from 5 to just 3, with no more than 5 options or packs of options for each of them. This search for simplicity is aimed at reducing costs and ultimately offering more competitive prices, but it will not be specific to Citroën as all manufacturers will offer it in the more or less long term, as the latest Renault Rafale does. in two versions and with a single engine.
Could this simplification of the range by reducing the number of finishes also be an opportunity for Citroën to review the names of its finishes? At present, the ranges of the various models are based on the Live, Feel and Shine finishes, which can be supplemented with the Feel Pack and Shine Pack, with the exception of the C3, whose range is based on the following finishes: You!, C-Series and Shine.
Citroën could therefore be tempted to harmonise its paint finishes in order to make them easier for consumers to understand, as part of a process of simplifying its range. It could therefore be that the brand decides to change the names of its finishes and adopt the following names:
You! in the entry-level version as currently on the C3. A level which, although it is an entry level, does not deny style, since the You! already makes it possible to offer, on the mirrors, the fog lamp covers and the rear quarter panel, a white decoration which contrasts with the colour of the bodywork.
More: this finish would become the centrepiece of the range and, as the name suggests, would be a finish with more features.
Max: Again, it is difficult to simplify, as this level simply indicates that it is not possible to have more non-optional equipment.
There is nothing official in this information, which must be taken with a pinch of salt, but it could well be that in this shock of simplification that Citroën is planning to offer its range, the brand will take the opportunity to review the names of its trims and harmonise them across all models. The changes to the trim names could take place as early as July, following last week's announcements, or they could wait for the presentation of the C3, which will officially launch them. To be continued.