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Saturday / 9 November 2024
HomeFeaturesCitroen’s new cars will corner South Africa’s budget segment

Citroen’s new cars will corner South Africa’s budget segment

South African motorists shopping on a budget can look forward to the upcoming line-up planned by Citroen, which is refocusing its efforts towards the affordable end of the price spectrum.

At a recent event held by its parent company Stellantis, it was revealed that Citroen will serve as a new entry-level brand in our market with a selection of crossovers all retailing for less than R400,000.

A brand for every price bracket

Stellantis is the parent company of eight different carmakers in South Africa, one of which is Citroen, while the others are AbarthAlfa RomeoFiatJeepMaseratiOpel, and Peugeot.

The automotive giant detailed its plans going forward, which will involve a restructuring of the various nameplates under its wing to ensure that each one has its niche and that there are no price overlaps between comparable models.

Abarth and Fiat are going electric, while Opel is leading the charge with the mid-range price bracket with models like the new Corsa and Frontera.

Jeep is focused on premium 4x4s while Alfa Romeo will continue to provide a small selection of stylish upmarket crossovers and SUVs, and Peugeot is committing to its Landtrek bakkie range in preparation for Stellantis’ new factory in the Eastern Cape.

This leaves us with Citroen, which will assume the role of Stellantis’ entry-level brand in South Africa with the stated goal that every model will cost less than R400,000, which is where 53% of all passenger car sales take place.

The French carmaker has already started this process, as the new C3 introduced in May 2023 slashed the price of the previous iteration by an impressive R76,000.

The old C3, which is still on sale, has a starting price of R383,500 and is a sibling to the Opel Corsa and Peugeot 208 hatchbacks, but the new version is a R239,900 crossover that is now competing with the likes of the Renault Kiger and Nissan Magnite.

The new C3 currently has two models with a manual gearbox, and the automaker plans to add a third automatic unit later this year to complete the set.

This cheaper, three-model strategy will be repeated with Citroen’s other two badges – the C3 Aircross and the C5 Aircross – which will launch in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

For better context, the C3 Aircross currently starts at R438,500 while the C5 Aircross goes for a minimum of R639,900, so the newcomers will be drastically retooled to suit their new market.

One interesting thing to note about the C3 Aircross is that Citroen will offer it in a “5+2” format with seven seats, making it an intriguing option in the affordable car scene competing with options like the Mahindra XUV700.

The company also revealed that the C3 Aircross will ship with two drivetrains – a 1.2-litre manual, and a 1.2-litre turbo with a six-speed automatic transmission, the latter of which produces 81kW and 205Nm.

A few other highlights of the crossover include a 10-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 6.7-inch colour digital driver display, a 444-litre boot, and a two-tone colour scheme.

No further information was provided on the C5 Aircross, which will only arrive next year.

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