Exclusive interview with Laurent Diot, Citroën's European Sales Director: The Citroën C3 is already a success

In an exclusive interview for Passionnément Citroën, Laurent Diot, Citroën Europe Sales Director, looks back on the first half of 2024 and comments on Citroën's performance in Europe, the arrival of the new C3 and the brand's ambitions for 2025. An opportunity to see that the brand is particularly confident for this year, despite a context that is, to say the least, unfavourable.

After a very strong first half in Europe, Citroën ended the year with sales down 2.6% and a market share of 3.1%. What is your analysis of Citroën's performance for the full year?

2024 was a year of transition. Because we had an extremely dynamic first half, with +10% volume growth and a gain of 0.1 points to reach 3.8 points of market share. What was particularly interesting was that, during this first half, we clearly defined the brand's positioning in five words. Citroën is a popular brand that makes the most comfortable products in its category. Citroën is a brand that focuses on sustainable mobility with the most affordable electric offers in its segment on cars manufactured in Europe. Citroën is a brand that dares and continues to dare, and Citroën is a brand that is straightforward. We are extremely transparent with our customers on pricing and the evolution of our ranges. In short, what you see is what we promised you and what you'll get. This very dynamic first half of the year has allowed us to build a brand that is very clear about what it brings to the automotive landscape and its DNA, and we've been preparing for the arrival of new products.

Then, in the second half of the year, we had the renewal of the C3 and the C3 Aircross, which was slightly delayed, which means that we've seen a slight erosion of our market share. But in reality, when we look at market share, we necessarily look at registrations; what I see are orders. And what I can tell you is that we have an extremely high order book, with more than three months until the end of December 2024.

While Citroën's overall sales in Europe are down, it is doing well in some markets, particularly in Italy, Germany and Austria, where its sales are growing strongly. What are the reasons for this success?

In fact, Citroën is doing very well in Italy for several reasons. Firstly, there has always been a link between Citroën and Italy. Citroën's first dealership in Italy was on land owned by Nicolas Romeo, the founder of Alfa Romeo. It's ironic that, a hundred years later, the two brands are part of the same group.

Secondly, Italy is a B-segment market and with the C3, Citroën is perfectly in tune with the fundamentals of this market. The previous generation was a great success, and the new one is following the same path with more space, more engines and more product content at a lower price.

Since its launch in Italy at the same time as in France, the new C3 has achieved remarkable results, which have been confirmed since the beginning of the year. Citroën is therefore a very strong brand with a very strong emotional link with Italians and a very relevant offer in its market, particularly in the B segment, which explains the brand's results. But Citroën is still far from its potential in the Italian market, because in reality it needs to be able to achieve at least 5% in Italy, and the launch of the new C3 Hybrid and C3 Aircross will allow us to achieve this.

Germany is also very interesting because it's the biggest and most competitive market in Europe. So if you can grow in Germany, it means you're extremely relevant. If you look at what happened in the German market in 2024, Citroën had a volume growth of almost 70% year-on-year. This means that if you have a relevant offer, which is ultimately different from what the German manufacturers are offering, you find your market, you find your place, and that's what we've managed to do in Germany. I'm very proud of this, because Citroën has grown the most of all the Stellantis brands. It's really remarkable, and it shows that when a brand is well defined, explained and positioned, and its products offer a lot of value, it creates a pretty strong commercial dynamic, characterised by numerous requests from investors asking to take the Citroën sign. I'm also very proud of this, because it's the most revealing indicator of the relevance of the offer, the relevance of the brand and its commercial dynamism. It shows that they have confidence in what Citroën has to offer, and in this extremely difficult context for the automotive industry in Europe, it is important to have the confidence of investors because it shows that we are well positioned to meet our customers' needs. This explains Citroën's very strong growth in Germany and Austria.

In Austria, you're in the middle of Germany and Italy, so if you succeed in Italy and Germany, you have every chance of succeeding in Austria, because this country is a bit like a combination of the two. In addition, Citroën is growing strongly and will continue to do so, because the order book that we have in Austria is still higher than what we have in Europe. I told you earlier that we have three months of orders in our portfolio in Europe and even more in Austria.

Conversely, the year was more difficult in France, Spain and the UK. Can you explain the reason for these mixed results?

So we have to look at the overall picture, and in Europe we can consider ourselves to be at parity, as volumes are almost the same from one year to the next in a market that is growing slightly. It's true that some markets are more dynamic than others. In fact, the brand's performance doesn't only depend on the market, but also on the availability of vehicles. In France, we lacked vehicle availability; this is also the case in Spain, where we are nevertheless balanced year on year. But what's very interesting in Spain is that we've made significant progress in retail sales, while we still have room for growth in B2B. Citroën's potential in Spain is significantly higher; with the full range, Citroën should be able to achieve around 6.5-7% market share.

What's also interesting in Spain is the market share in commercial vehicles. Citroën will finish 2024 in second place in terms of sales, which also shows the great vitality of the brand in Spain. Second place is quite remarkable.

Moreover, in France, our performance reflects a lack of vehicle availability rather than our sales momentum. If we look at what happened in January, for example, the new C3 was first in private sales. If we look at the C4 in the compact sedan segment, Citroën is also first among private customers, so I'm not at all worried about France.

On the contrary, I think that 2025 will be an exceptional year for Citroën with the launch of our new range. It's not easy to grow in a market like France when you're in the replacement phase, especially in the B-SUV segment, which is still the second most important segment in France.

After several months on the market, how is the new C3 performing?

We've seen a gradual increase in the C3, particularly in terms of orders, and this is reflected very directly because you saw in France, for example, in January that it became the best-selling car on the French market. It's really remarkable.

But what's even more remarkable is that, with the new C3, we see that when you launch a car that is firmly focused on its fundamentals, a car with a unique offering and very strong value, it is a success. So the C3 is the leader in France, but in Italy it's the second best-selling electric car and Citroën has a 7.7% market share in this segment. In Spain, the C3 is the fourth best-selling electric car, so we can already say that this new generation is a success and will continue to be so. We now have four months' worth of orders to deliver, which is remarkable, especially as the hybrid version is not yet available.

When you know that hybrid cars represent 47% of the volume in Europe, it's clear that when we have full market coverage, the C3 will be a success, and the same goes for the C3 Aircross, which has just gone on sale. I'll give you an anecdote: we exhibited the new C3 Aircross on our stand at the Brussels Motor Show and we received an absolutely incredible level of orders, because we took as many orders for the C3 Aircross as for the C3. And that's really promising.

The Citroën C4, now halfway through its life, saw its sales increase by 3% and ended 2024 in second place in Europe. 2024 marks the end of two years of decline for the C4. How do you explain these astonishing figures in the life of a vehicle?

I'm happy with the work we've done on the C4. Let's not forget that it is the market leader in Spain, number 3 in its segment in Italy, number 3 in France and, above all, number 2 in Europe, so it is doing really well. And its potential is even greater because the facelift we have just launched is very successful. We've increased the level of comfort. It was already the most comfortable compact sedan, but with this facelift it's even better.

I regularly hear that orders for the C5 Aircross are picking up again, especially in France. Is this true, and is it true elsewhere in Europe, and what are the reasons?

Yes, it is true in Europe for several reasons. The first is that in the C-SUV segment, which is the leading segment in Europe, there is a shortage of diesel engines; there are practically no competitors offering diesel engines. In this case, Citroën continues to offer diesel engines in the C5 Aircross, in addition to its PHEV and internal combustion engine offerings, and we are one of the few brands to do so, and ultimately there is still demand for diesel engines.

The second element is the unparalleled comfort of the C5 Aircross. If you look, for example, at row 2, the rear seat, it is one of the rare cars, perhaps the only one now in the C-SUV segment, where the seats are differentiated, and that appeals very much to families.

In short, Citroën is offering a car at a very good price, with features that no one else has, including second-row seats, and an engine that is still in demand today, diesel, especially in certain markets that are perhaps a little traditional. In the end, the combination of all this leads to an increase in orders, both B2B and private, and I'm very happy about this because it allows us to create half an additional team at the Rennes plant and ensure a good launch base for the next C5 Aircross.

Is the new C3 Hybrid destined to be the best-selling engine for the C3?

For the C3 it will probably be the hybrid, and for the C3 Aircross as well. Just like the C5 Aircross, simply because the hybrid is the best-selling engine in Europe and this will inevitably be reflected in our sales. But what's fantastic about Citroën is that we offer freedom of choice, and at Citroën we take this freedom very seriously, so we give all our customers freedom of choice.

So you have all kinds of engines in every car, and we make sure that for electric cars we have the most competitive offer in every segment. So the hybrid should be the best-selling engine in our range, but we also want to offer a more traditional combustion engine and also the best offer in each segment for electric vehicles.

What are Citroën's ambitions for 2025?

We can't talk about precise order figures, but we have three months' worth of orders to deliver, and this is really excellent news because it will allow Citroën to secure a significant market share in Europe.

With the new range arriving in the first half of the year, Citroën will be able to increase its sales by around 10%, which would give us a market share of 4%.

For the C3, our goal is to be the leader in the B-Hatch BEV segment. The same applies to the C3 Aircross; we aim to be among the top 5 in the B-SUV segment and I believe it has the potential to do so.