Citroen Thinks Electrification Is A Threat To Affordable Vehicles

Arnaud Ribault, head of Citroen Europe, said that electrification poses a “real threat” to affordable vehicles, not only for Citroen but for all automakers, with the rising cost of raw materials impacting car production all over the world. The comments come after the EU parliament’s decision to allow only sales of zero-emission vehicles in Europe after 2035.

As reported by Autocar, Arnaud Ribault said: “It’s really a threat that the electrification has increased the price of the car so much that people can’t afford cars anymore. It’s a real threat, not only regarding Citroën, so we’re increasingly conscious of that and are working on this”. Ribault admitted they are trying to reduce the cost of their vehicles in order to compensate for the increased cost of raw materials and electrification.

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The high-ranked executive made the comments during the launch of the new Citroen e-C4 X and C4 X fastback crossovers, which are aimed as affordable proposals in the midsize segment. The French automaker hasn’t revealed pricing for the models which are expected to cost slightly more than the closely-related but smaller C4 and e-C4.

Ribault also talked about sustainability which is quite important for the brand: “Sustainability is our future, the future of our industry, and the C4 X is ready for that”. He claims that Citroen customers “are looking for sustainable mobility solutions”, thus the C4 X will be exclusively offered in fully electric form (e-C4 X) in 14 European markets.

Pierre Monferrini, who is responsible for the Citroen range of products, said their goal is not to have the largest battery on the market but to offer the “most affordable and near-to-customers battery”.

Currently, Citroen is offering EVs in a variety of segments, starting from the Ami quadricycle, moving on to the e-C4 compact hatchback and the e-C4 X fastback crossover, and going up to the e-Berlingo and the e-SpaceTourer minivans which have recently gone BEV-only in Europe.