Well supported by its technical base in India, Citroën has the ambition to develop in the countries of the South-East Asia region and in particular in Indonesia, where the brand has announced its return in October 2022. Today, Citroën intends to speed up the pace of its expansion of its distribution network.
Until now, Citroën's presence in Indonesia has been limited to the Java region, but at a time when the range is expanding with the launch of the C3, ë-C3 and C3 Aircross, the brand is counting on the development of its network to increase its sales.
Tan Kim Piauw, CEO of Citroën Indonesia, says: "This year we will focus on expanding our network in Indonesia. We will target other points outside Java. The aim is to have 19 dealerships here by the end of the year". Among the cities that could host a dealership are Bogor, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Medan, Palembang and also Bali. Enough to increase the brand's visibility in this vast territory and boost sales, especially as Citroën will be able to count on the local production of the C3 to benefit from subsidies for the purchase of electric cars in Indonesia, which should help it break through even further.
A difficult conquest of the young population
Present in Indonesia in the 1980s and 1990s, Citroën withdrew from the market in 1994 and will return in 2022. Of course, regaining a foothold in this market promises to be a very difficult challenge for a brand that is not at all known to the new generations. On the other hand, Citroën still has a good image among older customers because they associate Citroën with technology, which is why Citroën communicates a lot with this population.
However, the challenge of winning over young people is essential for sales development, and this is what Citroën is working on in order to gain visibility among this category of the population. The brand's CEO in Indonesia explains: "In our opinion, Generation Z still needs to be educated (about the Citroën brand). We are trying to reach them through different media and communities where they are. We will continue to develop our communication with them.
In conclusion, Citroën does indeed intend to establish itself in Indonesia in a sustainable way, even if this is a major challenge. The development of its network in other cities in the country should help it to become more widely known in this market, particularly among the young population known as Generation Z, who are not familiar with the brand. To meet these immense challenges, Citroën can count on a willing importer with ambitions for the brand, which should have a positive effect on sales in the more or less long term.