Citroën and France have a long love story that now spans 104 years. Thanks to its legendary models, including some of the most popular such as the 2CV, all French people have, at one time or another, had a relationship with one of the brand's cars that remains deeply rooted in their hearts. This is still true today, as Citroën is the second most popular French brand, and has recently been ranked first in the Ifop/Posternak survey.
The Ifop/Posternak survey, conducted on 1 and 2 June among 1,004 people aged 18 and over, representative of the French population, is carried out every six months to measure the evolution of the image of brands among French consumers and to find out which brands they like best.
In the latest survey, conducted in June 2023, Citroën moved up 1 point to an image index* of 62%. Most importantly, 78% of French people have a rather positive image of Citroën, which has risen again since the previous survey at the beginning of the year. This new rise of Citroën allows it to consolidate its position as the second favourite car brand of the French after Peugeot (82% of rather positive image), while reintegrating the top 5 brands where it was 6th in January 2023.
Finally, another important element in this survey is the very sharp fall of the Renault brand, which drops out of the top 10 with a loss of 7 points compared to the last survey. The diamond brand had returned to the Top 10 in June 2022, where it was then in 7th place, but its image plummeted in this June survey, particularly in the "very good image" category, which fell from 15% to 7%. Thus, despite a renewed range that seems to have met with success and intense communication playing on the fibre of nostalgia, it does not seem to have any effect on the French, who relegate Renault to 12th position of favourite brands and third automobile.
Despite the reduced communication in France, Citroën maintains and improves its positive image with the French, which shows how much they are attached to the brand. It remains to be seen whether Citroën will be able to take advantage of the good image that the French have of it to return to the centre of attention and take advantage of the launch of the new models to move forward.
* The image index is the difference between the percentage of respondents who say they have a good image and the percentage who say they have a bad image.