The European automotive industry is currently at an all-time low, in terms of both production and sales, and it seems that no matter what the major automakers try, it still ends up just being a case of laying people off, canceling models and closing factories. Still, the PSA group from France has announced a radical rethink of how it markets and sells its cars.
The problem faced by PSA is not new, and the blame lies within them, because they did not make Peugeot– and Citroen-badged cars more different from one another. However, officials now state that this will all change for the group’s future models, which will be repositioned in the range.
The first order of business is to push Peugeot further upmarket, in order for the brand to remain competitive, while Citroen will be the low-cost alternative. And yet, in this case, at least, low-cost doesn’t mean what you actually think it does, and a more accurate way to describe it would be “lower-cost”.
Citroen’s C-line of models will offer better ownership costs, yet they will have to do without the level of mechanical complexity found in Peugeot-branded models. They will also miss the full range of engines, with Peugeot getting all of the latest and most powerful units.
The Citroen DS-line will be kept, and it will still represent the pinnacle of PSA engineering. Peugeot will slot in neatly between Citroen’s DS and its regular range of models, in this revised way of thinking. The 208 GTi is an example of one of the first cars to follow this new philosophy, and we say the new 508 does so too…
By Andrei Nedelea
Story References: Autonews Europe
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