Citroen Says C5 Successor Is In Development And It’s ‘Splendid’

Back in 2018, it was reported that a replacement for the Citroen C5 mid-size saloon would be in showrooms by the year 2020, utilizing styling cues seen on the stunning CXperience Concept, unveiled in 2016 at the Paris Auto Show.

Well, it’s the year 2020 and the C5 successor is nowhere to be seen. However, Citroen executives now say that the plan for a new midsize model remains on track, reports Autonews Europe.

“Trust us, the car exists and it is splendid,” said Citroen product and strategy director, Laurence Hansen during a video posted to social media. “It’s a really important car for us.”

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The last C5 was sold as both a sedan and a station wagon, and went out of production in 2018, with the French carmaker saying that they will not abandon the segment entirely.

The mid-size saloon segment, by the way, has lost ground to crossovers and SUVs in recent years in Europe too – declining by 14 percent last year to 403,922 units. Also, while these types of cars remain popular in China, Citroen has registered a drop in sales within the People’s Republic in 2019, to just 55,000 units from 114,000 the previous year.

So what do we know about this so-called “splendid” C5 successor? For starters it’s likely that it will be built on the PSA Group’s EMP2 platform, the same as the Peugeot 508.

Two years ago, former Citroen product director Xavier Peugeot (yes, it’s his real name), argued that his company needed to reinvent the saloon segment and “make it as modern and attractive as the SUV segment.”

“If your saloon is classical or traditional, I’m afraid you are in trouble,” he added.

Does this mean the next C5 will ride a bit higher than a traditional mid-size sedan like the Peugeot 508 or the VW Passat? Will it resemble the CXperience Concept with its luxury hatchback styling?

We’re probably not very close to finding out, seen as how we haven’t even seen any prototypes so far, which means the car is nowhere near its late stages of development.

Note: Citroen CXperience Concept pictured