Launched in 2018, the Citroën C4 Cactus has been a great success in Latin America, allowing Citroën to wait for the arrival of the new C3 and the future range developed from the C-Cubed programme. However, the arrival of these next vehicles will not call into question the C4 Cactus, which will continue to be sold, albeit with some changes to the range.
The future C3 Aircross in internal competition
The new C3 is now being launched on the Brazilian and Argentinian markets, where it is enabling Citroën to gain good market share. This new C3 also seems to be taking sales away from the C4 Cactus, which ended 2022 much worse than it started. But what Citroën's urban SUV is most afraid of is obviously the future C3 Aircross, which will be presented in a few months and which will also be an urban SUV.
However, this internal competition with the C3 Aircross will force the C4 Cactus to make slight changes in order to slightly revise its range before the arrival of its brother. Citroën is therefore preparing to clean up the C4 Cactus range in Brazil, mainly by reducing the number of versions and concentrating on the most accessible ones.
Slightly reduced range
In fact, the C4 Cactus is currently available in Brazil in a wide range of six trim levels, from the entry-level Live to the top-of-the-range Shine Pack. During this year, the C4 Cactus range will be reduced with the elimination of the X-Series and Shine versions to focus on the following trim levels: Live, Feel, Feel Pack and Shine Pack.
On the engine side, two versions will be offered with or without turbo and according to the trim level. The Live, Feel and Feel Pack versions will be available with the only naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine producing 113 bhp (120 bhp with ethanol) and a 6-speed automatic gearbox. The Shine Pack version will be the only one to have the same engine, but turbocharged, developing 166 bhp (173 bhp with ethanol) and still mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.
This slight modification of the range is a first step before the arrival of the future C3 Aircross, which will force Citroën to review the positioning of the C4 Cactus so that the two urban SUVs do not compete too much. Admittedly, the future C3 Aircross will be a good fifteen centimetres longer than the C4 Cactus to be able to have seven seats while the C4 Cactus is reduced to 4m16 for only 5 seats. The C4 Cactus should also evolve more in the coming years, since it seems that prototypes have been seen in Brazil, indicating that higher evolutions are coming on the C4 Cactus and that the arrival of the C3 Aircross does not condition the end of its career.