Citroën CEO: “We will not become the Dacia of Stellantis”

AutoWeek spoke to Koskas after the unveiling of the Citroën ë-C3, which generated more than 300 responses on this site. Not surprising, because the Citroën ë-C3 offers an electric drivetrain, 320 kilometers of range and a usable amount of space for less than 25,000 euros. We didn’t know that combination yet in the car world. There is one cheaper EV, the Dacia Spring, but it charges much less quickly, travels much less far (230 kilometers) and is much less spacious. In short: Spring is going to have a hard time.

Is Citroën deliberately targeting Dacia? In this case yes, but not always. Koskas: “You are now comparing us with a brand that we have a lot of respect for. The difference between Dacia and Citroën is that we are a brand with a 100-year history. We also have other core values, namely comfort, simplicity, sustainability and courage. Cars should be affordable for everyone as much as possible, but we also make larger models such as the C5 Aircross and C5 X. The positioning of Citroën as a brand is therefore not the same as that of Dacia. We compete with Dacia with some models, but not with all.”

Where does Citroën stand within the large Stellantis group? According to Koskas, that is quite simple: “Citroën is a truly mainstream brand and therefore truly a ‘core brand’ within Stellantis, just like Fiat. Peugeot and Opel are higher on the ladder.” So a little more towards premium. Above that level of Peugeot and Opel we find a growing range of premium brands, each with its own style and positioning. We mention DS, Alfa Romeo and soon Lancia again. Maserati is even higher on the ladder, while Jeep, as a builder of SUVs and off-road vehicles with a long history in that area, has its own unique position and operates alongside everything, so to speak.

Besides Dacia, there is another group that Citroën is targeting with the ë-C3, perhaps even more emphatically: the Chinese brands. The ë-C3 was developed in Europe and is also built here (Slovakia). This is a good thing, because it provides him with possible and existing measures to combat unfair competition from China. This also puts it one step ahead of the Dacia Spring, because that budget EV is also built in China. However, Koskas states that the goal is higher than just getting rid of that kind of fiscal mess: “The big question was: can we make a car that can compete with the Chinese, but that is made in Europe? Thanks to the great work of our engineers, we succeeded. And yes, this is most certainly a response to the Chinese offensive.”