Citroen plans to broaden the reach and appeal of its cars by launching a new product family for the iPod generation'.
It would be the fourth Citroen product family sitting alongside DS, the regular Citron brand and the Picasso MPV family.
PSA Peugeot-Citron design boss Jean-Pierre Plou has told Autocar that the firm flush with a successful DS launch that has encouraged it to raise sales projections for the DS3 will use this autumns Paris motor show to introduce the new sub-brand.
Industry watchers have predicted that Citron is preparing to launch a budget model line, but Plou denied the suggestion.
This is a brand defined not by price, but by simplicity and ingenuity of design, said Plou. Its our family of cars for those who value design purity above all else: for the iPod generation.
I cannot reveal its name yet, Plou continued, but this brand will cause a lot of shock and surprise at Paris, I promise you. Its a real departure for us a break from tradition.
Plou references Citrons iconic 2CV as the inspiration for its new model family, not for the appearance of the car, but for its innovative spirit.
But the real inspiration for the new brand is the C-Cactus concept from the 2007 Frankfurt show.
A 4.2m-long compact family hatch memorable for its unconventional cabin design, innovative packaging and simplified features, the C-Cactus was deemed too challenging to be put into production as a Citron earlier this year. But as a member of this all-new sub-brand, it seems, it could make the showroom.
The C3 Picasso would also be a model for the new sub-brand, if we were making it today, Plou said. Its a youthful, innovative, efficient and simple design.
Plou also defined this new sub-brand as a contrast to Citrons DS brand. DS is all about Frenchness, sculpture and sophistication, while the new brand is the antithesis of that, he said. It appeals through its stark, pared-down simplicity, to a different, younger customer than DS.
One of the first models to be brought out under Citrons new brand is likely to be a compact supermini, partly to fill the void left by the deletion of the C2.
Were not planning on replacing the C2 as a Citron, but under the new brand we could use the opportunity to do something much more interesting, Plou said.
[autocar]
