Currently reading: New Citroen boss targets one million sales a year in aggressive push

Former Renault executive and now Citroen CEO Thierry Koskas has confirmed plans for bold global expansion

Citroën is aggressively bidding to increase its annual sales by around 40% with concerted marketing efforts in both Europe and wider world markets. 

A broad-reaching plan revealed in Paris this week by newly arrived Citroën brand CEO Thierry Koskas is targeting one million sales annually by 2025, compared with last year’s total volume of 680,000 units.

Koskas, a former high-achieving Renault executive, wants to boost Citroën’s current 4.0% share of Europe’s 14 million car sales to 5.0% – a matter of 140,000 cars. He also aims to increase sales beyond Europe from the current 20% of total volume to 30%, close to 200,000 cars.

He believes European expansion will come from model improvements that are already under way – citing the ë-C4, ë-C4 X and new C5 Aircross hybrid as examples – along with new emphasis on traditional Citroën brand values such as comfort, simplicity and sustainability.

Thierry koskas

READ MORE: New £25,000 electric Citroën ë-C3 to launch in October this year

Under Koskas’s plan, there will also be a new brand identity, visible in a new round of bold and creative advertising, and seen at dealerships by the end of 2025. “We will use a new logo, and we will have more colour and more joy,” he says. “We have plenty more potential.”

Away from Europe, Koskas sees the major target areas for Citroën as South America and especially India, where Citroën began selling C3s three years ago. “The Indian market is a powerhouse,” he says. “It’s three million cars a year now, but soon it will be five million. We can do well there.” Koskas also sees Turkey as an enticing market: “Last month we were the second best-selling brand.”

As a former Renault executive, Koskas clearly perceives the parallels between Citroën’s affordability message and that of the Renault Group’s hugely successful Dacia, although he is reluctant actually to name the new rival.

“We do not make cheap cars,” he says, “but we are big on affordability. Against rivals, we stress Citroën’s special advantages. We have a huge history. Our cars are known for special qualities like comfort. And in the future we will go even further with simplicity. We have some great ideas.”

Steve Cropley

Steve Cropley Autocar
Title: Editor-in-chief

Steve Cropley is the oldest of Autocar’s editorial team, or the most experienced if you want to be polite about it. He joined over 30 years ago, and has driven many cars and interviewed many people in half a century in the business. 

Cropley, who regards himself as the magazine’s “long stop”, has seen many changes since Autocar was a print-only affair, but claims that in such a fast moving environment he has little appetite for looking back. 

He has been surprised and delighted by the generous reception afforded the My Week In Cars podcast he makes with long suffering colleague Matt Prior, and calls it the most enjoyable part of his working week.

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