After the disappearance of the C5 and C6, Citroën is putting an end to a long wait by unveiling, on 12 April 2021, its new large sedan, which is intended to be the brand's new flagship with a strong promise at stake: ultra-comfort. Two years to the day after its presentation, the first report on the sales of this great Citroën in every sense of the word.
With the C5 X, Citroën is offering a new large saloon in the tradition of the great Citroëns, with an original style, a unique offer on the market and, of course, first-class comfort. In a D-segment that has completely collapsed in recent years, resulting in an almost universal abandonment of generalist brands, offering a new generalist saloon is therefore a big bet that Citroën has made. To stand out from the crowd, the brand wanted to offer a new concept that combined the codes of saloons and estate cars to offer a single body with the elegance of a saloon and the practicality of an estate car, all with a touch of SUV.
Based on the EMP2 platform, the new C5 X stretches over 4m80 and offers remarkable space in the rear as well as a substantial boot, both in combustion engine and hybrid versions. It is on these hybrid versions, first in 225 hp, since joined by a 180 hp version, that the C5 X offers the best thanks to suspensions with double hydraulic stops, seen here electronically controlled to offer a remarkable magic carpet effect with a touch of cotton wool, dear to Citroën hydraulics. Original, well equipped, liveable and comfortable, there is no doubt that the C5 X is worthy of the brand's large saloons, which I invite you to try by taking advantage of the 48-hour trial offer that Citroën is setting up in France.
If the C5 X was launched in China in September 2021, it took until March 2022 for it to be launched in Europe. What is the sales balance since its launch?
In China, the C5 X enabled Citroën to revive its sales in 2021, becoming Citroën's best-selling vehicle in its first year with 14,152 units sold. The trend continued in 2022, when Citroën sold more than 46,000 C5 X in China, making it by far the best seller of the year, but also making the large Citroën the best-selling car of the Stellantis group in China. the country where it is produced exclusively for the whole world. In its segment, while Citroën is rather weak in China, the C5 X sails around 20th place, but arouses real interest and enthusiasm on the part of Chinese consumers who give themselves to their heart's content to personalise their large sedan, driven by the brand that offers models co-constructed with customers like this magnificent China red C5 X that has been available on the Chinese market for a few months and as an illustration of the article.
In Europe, sales of the C5 X started in March 2022, so there is only one year of decline, which is not made easier by health restrictions and logistical concerns. However, the C5 X sold 9,928 units in its first year on the European market, which puts it in sixth place in terms of sales of D-segment saloons in Europe and first in France, where the large Citroën does better than the Peugeot 508 (7,222,508 saloons sold in Europe in 2022). In the first two months of 2023, the figures for March are not yet known, the C5 X has sold 2,194 units, which suggests that it will end the year with a sales rate of 13,000, i.e. well within Citroën's target in a market which, let's remember, has shrunk drastically in recent years in favour of SUVs. The C5 X does better than the Peugeot 508 (1,783 units over the 2 months of the year) but it remains very far from the Skoda Superb sold with 7,801 units in 2023 and 44,452 in 2022, but available in saloons and estate cars . Of saloons alone, the Superb sold 17,537 units in 2022 on the European market.
Future prospects for the C5 X are rather good, as the brand has just launched a 180 hp hybrid version, which lowers the price of entry into the hybrid range and fills the gap between the 130 hp thermal engine and the hybrid version. 225. This new 180 hp offer should make it possible to develop sales of the large Citroën, not to mention that the brand has a few surprises in store for its large Citroën which will come to animate the range in the coming months in Europe, surprises which promise to be particularly interesting.
In conclusion, two years after its presentation and one year after its launch in Europe, sales of the C5 X are in line with the targets set by the brand in a situation where shortages are making things difficult. Nevertheless, the C5 X has won the hearts of journalists, where everyone agrees on a promise of comfort that is more than kept, the C5 X is often compared to higher range vehicles for its comfort. Style, technology and comfort, there is no doubt that this C5 X is a success for the brand, a success that it must know how to turn into success both in Europe and in China, the C5 X deserves it because its qualities are numerous.