Citroën is readying its first new global saloon model in eight years, as the brand seeks to position the C6 successor as its flagship.
Saloons have largely fallen out of favour over the past decade in Europe, but the French firm also wants to grow its presence in other regions – primarily China – where saloons outsell SUVs.
The upcoming model, which will arrive by the end of 2021, was first envisioned in 2016’s Cxperience concept, which had similar dimensions to the old C6 and used a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The futuristic concept also previewed Citroën’s Advanced Comfort technology, which has since been launched on the C4 Cactus and C5 Aircross.
Given Citroën’s focus on comfort, plus the popularity of chauffeurs in China, a newer iteration of the system, which intends to “emphasise a feeling of reassurance, comfort and calm”, will inevitably come to the saloon.
Most notably, it will include a Progressive Hydraulic Cushion suspension set-up promised to give “a magic carpet effect”.
The saloon will sit on the same EMP2 platform as its sibling models, the Peugeot 508 and new DS 9. Like those models, it will be offered with regular combustion engines and a plug-in hybrid powertrain that can yield more than 39 miles of electric-only range.
While not engineered for electric cars currently, EMP2 is believed to be adaptable. Citroën CEO Vincent Cobée confirmed that the saloon will not launch with an electric version, but this is expected to become available in time, given the zero-emissions demands of China.
The styling of the saloon will vary in different regions to suit local tastes, explained Cobée.
He said: “We need to find the right balance between global balance and local adaptation. When you talk China, you talk more electronic equipment, more chrome plus the face of the car. In China, [the front end] must deliver the right status, presence, reassurance that you made the right choice. It’s a concept extremely hard for foreigners to grasp.
“There’s a very particular demand of the Chinese market, which might appear a bit too grand in European markets. There is where you need to tweak bumpers, headlights, chrome or headlights.
“Plus, safety regulations, road conditions, engine size and fuel are different. There will be a number of things related to suspension tuning, powertrain choices, colour and material and overall delivery of the car that vary.
“The different versions will use the same platform and same silhouette, but there are a number of dimensions where you can adapt expectations.”
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Misunderstood PSA strategy
The problem with the motoring world is that there appears to be a pecking order of car brands that is being shoved to the car market based on percieved value from cheap affordable brands all the way to premium and luxury brands. And that brands and their products must onky compete within those segments.
PSA seeks to eliminate this caste system by relasing products based on brand ethos rather than market segementation by value and its a new novel way. This means that prices for their products will overlap but design ethos will never be violated. The delineation is as follows:-
Citroen - Comfort
Peugeot - dynamism
DS - Technology
The two ex GM brands Vauxhall/Opel only exist to fulfill market gaps.
It is not far fetched from the approach for Volvo being synonymous with safety in the past. The motoring industry ought to appreciate this approach and desist from shoehorning them into the fake plastic badge worship and snobbery plaguing the industry that keeps "winners" up based on past glory and kicks down any other brand from rising through the ranks.
Will Citroen even sell this
Will Citroen even sell this in the UK? It's hard to see much of a market for a large "non premium branded" saloon in Europe, and to produce a RHD version surely won't be worth it.
Surely this sector of the market ought to be a DS anyway?
It would be welcome.
It would be welcome.
Sadly they have abandoned the famous hydropneumatic suspension...
As passenger, it was great.