Regardless of contemporary new product, Citroen was virtually crushed within the gross sales race in January by a model that exited Australia simply over seven years in the past.
Six Dodge Journey crossovers have been registered in January 2024, whereas Citroen bought seven automobiles in whole: two C3 hatchbacks, three C5 Aircross crossovers, and two examples of the flagship C5 X. No C4s have been bought.
That meant the long-dead (in Australia) Dodge model was only one sale shy of matching Citroen in gross sales, regardless of the Journey having final been bought right here a number of years earlier than Dodge and Citroen’s father or mother corporations merged to kind Stellantis.
Stellantis Australia confirmed the Journeys have been discipline automobiles that had been in use by the corporate, and have now been on-sold.
Citroen gross sales fell 50 per cent from December to January, and have been down 12.5 per cent on January 2023.
The model was outsold by high-end manufacturers like Aston Martin (8), Bentley (19), Ferrari (14), Lamborghini (9), Lotus (9) and Maserati (24), but it surely did beat out McLaren (3) and Rolls-Royce (3).
Regardless of launching its new C4 and C5 X in 2022 and an up to date C5 Aircross in 2023, gross sales have really slumped. They have been down 23 per cent final yr in contrast with the yr earlier than, with the C4 most alarmingly down by 46.8 per cent.
All 4 fashions have been the worst-selling automobiles of their respective segments, excluding discontinued automobiles.
The model has solely eight mixed gross sales and providers areas nationwide, although its automobiles may be serviced at an extra 23 areas.
“I feel we are able to categorically say we’re dedicated to the Australian market. And it’s not one thing that we’re simply saying, we’re exhibiting that by the product that we’re bringing to the market,” stated Chloe Fraser, group public relations and company communications supervisor, late in 2022.
On the time, Peugeot Citroen Australia managing director Kate Gillis additionally stated there was an “formidable five-year plan” for the model.
It subsequently launched the refreshed C5 Aircross, however delayed the launch of its plug-in hybrid C5 X to the primary half of 2024.
The model additionally has but to lock in any electrical automobiles for our market. Late final yr, it confirmed the electrical e-C4 continues to be “under evaluation”.
Obtainable VFACTS knowledge relationship again to 1997 exhibits 2021 was Citroen’s worst yr on file with simply 175 automobiles bought – round a tenth what it managed in 2012, when it had a a lot wider vary consisting of passenger automobiles (together with extra premium DS-badged fashions) and business automobiles.
That yr, it bought 1702 automobiles in Australia, and it’s been downhill since then. However even 2012 wasn’t a excessive watermark for the French model, as only a few years earlier than in 2007 it bought 3803 automobiles.
In that yr, Citroen outsold Chrysler, Fiat, Renault and Skoda.
Dodge was promoting in higher volumes than Citroen is now, regardless of having just one mannequin, when its father or mother firm pulled the plug on the model in Australia.
The model was withdrawn from Australia late in 2016, and that yr it bought 366 automobiles (Citroen, for context, bought 424 automobiles that yr).
Nonetheless, in its finest yr – 2011 – Dodge bought 2703 automobiles.