At the end of August 2023, Citroën announced its intention to enter the motorhome sector with the presentation of the Type Holidays, based on the image of the Type H redesigned by Caselani. In January 2024, the brand unveiled the final version, adorned with the new features of the redesigned SpaceTourer. Why is Citroën entering this specific camper market? Answers.
A market that has become important
The motorhome market has been booming in Europe for several years, with 100% growth over the last five years to reach 180,000 units in Europe, much of it concentrated in Germany and France. These two countries alone account for 62% of sales and Germany for 45%. The motorhome market is therefore an important market in which Stellantis is the leader, with a 55% market share, thanks in particular to Citroën, which represents 19% of motorhome registrations in Europe. However, Citroën is not a direct seller of these motorhomes, as it is specialised developers, such as Pössl, who sell the equipped motorhome, and the latter receive supplies from Citroën for the vehicle part, for example from a SpaceTourer.
This is the main reason why Citroën has decided to sell its holiday campers directly through its network, just like Mercedes, with the Marco Polo, for 40 years, Volkswagen, with the California, for 36 years, or even Ford and Renault, which have recently entered the market. Citroën's interest is to be able to "control" the entire commercial process by selling its campers directly in its network, while at the same time facilitating the journey for the customer, who will have a single point of contact by going to a brand dealer. to configure and order their motorhome.
A certain legitimacy for Citroën
For several years now, Citroën has been "exploring" the motorhome market, with several concepts presented since 2016, starting with the Rip Curl space-tourer, followed by TheCitroënist and, most recently, Type Holidays, which announced Citroën's imminent entry into motorhome sales with a new range, aptly named Holidays. The presentation of these various concepts aroused a great deal of interest among customers, who were frustrated at not being able to order them from their dealerships, and prompted the brand to enter this market.
With the SpaceTourer, Citroën intends to enter the motorhome market with a version that is perfectly adapted to the market and very well positioned to hit the mark with customers. If the brand can be considered a newcomer to direct sales of motorhomes, it has been present for a very long time, notably through Pössl, which has been selling a converted Spacetourer for 8 years now, helping to make Citroën the second largest brand sold in Europe. For 18 years, Citroën has been working with Bravia Mobil, a Slovenian company specialising in motorhome interiors.
Reflects Citroën values
Citroën has always been associated with adventure. Its rally-raid escapades have demonstrated this and, in its long history, the brand has several models that have anchored it in this field. With the Holidays, the brand has reaffirmed its commitment to "accessible mobility", while at the same time responding to the needs and wishes of its customers.
The Holidays motorhome fits perfectly into the brand's tradition of family vehicles and meets the needs of customers who want to share with family or friends excursions as close to nature as possible, to experience convivial moments, in a vehicle that combines all the comfort equipment to ensure a trip in the best conditions of comfort and technology.
Furthermore, with a length of less than 5 metres and a height of less than 2 metres, which allows it to be parked in city and beach car parks, the Holidays camper is an excellent compromise between livability and compactness, and in this sense it performs better than its direct competitors.
With a height of less than 2 metres, the Holidays camper van, unlike some of its competitors, allows its users to continue to benefit from the toll price of a classic limousine, thus enabling customers to consider travelling in a cost-conscious manner. In this respect, Citroën Holidays will be offered in two trim levels, Plus and Max, thus fully fitting into the brand's current range construction, both of which will be well equipped, among other things, with two doors as standard. sliding, a 10-inch multimedia screen. Citroën has taken care to ensure that the Holidays is on a par with the brand's saloons in terms of comfort, technology and running smoothness. It also incorporates the latest developments brought by the redesigned SpaceTourer, including the new dashboard and the redesigned front, which incorporate the Citroën Holidays _ Why the brand is launching the Camper the new visual signature of the brand.
Citroën has not yet announced the prices of its Camper Holidays. The brand should do so before the summer, with a "first" in France, during the Camper Van Week-End, organised from 26 to 28 April 2024, south of Angers, where Citroën will exhibit its Holidays.
To sum up, the launch of the Holidays range is a major challenge for Citroën, which is offering a new distribution method in a market segment where it is the second largest brand in Europe. It is also a challenge for the network, which will be welcoming new customers and will therefore have to train itself to sell vehicles that it did not sell before. But it is also a fantastic opportunity for growth at a local level, with significant advantages, including the possibility of taking over private vehicles, offering financing and service contracts. This is also a fantastic opportunity for Citroën, which is the only Stellantis brand to use this new distribution method, a sign of the Group's confidence in the brand's teams. Citroën is an accessible brand that aims to meet the needs and desires of all customers, including those looking for a motor home that can be the only vehicle in the family. Adventure, accessibility, versatility and comfort, the Holidays respond well to Citroën's traditional values.