In 2021, with the launch of the C3 for India and Latin America, Citroën launched the C-Cubed programme to develop its international sales. Three years later, the brand completed the programme with the presentation of the Basalt, but in the meantime it has radically changed its style in Europe with the new design codes of the oli concept. So what can we expect from the style of the models outside Europe? Elements of an answer.
A cross between two styles
When it was launched in India, the Citroën C3 featured the codes of the brand's old style, namely headlights with a Y-shaped visual signature and chevrons running the full width of the body. The C3 Aircross SUV that followed logically adopted the same aesthetic codes as it shares both the headlights and the bonnet with the C3, allowing a reduction in costs and a coherent style.
However, as Citroën's design director since 2018, Pierre Leclercq has radically changed the brand's style with the OLI concept as his manifesto, introducing new aesthetic codes such as the new light signature and the new brand logo. If he could not touch the C3 and C3 Aircross, which were too far advanced in their development for markets outside Europe, Pierre Leclercq was able to have carte blanche for the brand's new models in Europe, which gradually adopted this new stylistic language.
However, the latest Citroën Basalt shows the first signs of change and the first traces of the possibilities left to Pierre Leclercq to initiate a change in design. We find the colour clips on the quarter panels and on the front bumper. Even if not everything could be changed for reasons of cost and time, the Basalt shows the brand's desire to unify its style throughout the world.
A future shared style?
The C3 has been on the market for two years but has only been on show for three, and the restyling work that could begin as early as 2025 is set to breathe new life into the brand's versatile saloon and boost its sales.
On this occasion, the brand could be prompted to introduce new aesthetic codes, in particular its new logo, which will put an end to the chrome bars starting from the chevrons. The brand could also easily apply the same European aesthetic codes to these models outside Europe since, with the exception of the bonnet, it would only be necessary to change the headlights and the bumper.
Of course, it is always difficult to introduce a new style when restyling a model designed for an old one, and even more so when there are cost issues. The brand could also be persuaded to make minor changes that would subtly introduce the new codes without upsetting everything, while the next new models, designed both for Europe and beyond, would have all the freedom to adopt a uniform design that would give a global coherence to the brand's products everywhere in the world.
In conclusion, it is never easy to apply a new style to models that have already been launched, so the next restyling of the C-Cubed range will not be able to reproduce the European Citroën style identically, but will be able to take on certain elements, the most charismatic of which is the logo. We will have to wait and see in the coming months what Citroën is preparing for their restyling, but it is probably on their replacement that the brand will be able to adopt a unique design all over the world.
Comentários