Citroen SUV on the way as sales surge

Citroen boss Linda Jackson has told Auto Express that her company will make an SUV, which will be infused with the spirit of the C4 Cactus.

Speaking as she revealed that Citroen’s global sales had risen 4% in 2014, Jackson said: “We’ve already revealed plans to move from 14 to seven silhouettes, but concentrating on segments where there are volume opportunities.

”We’re looking at our product plan, including SUVs and CUVs. If you look at SUVs wherever you are they make sense and we’re looking at being present wherever there’s a market. We will do an SUV, but I’m not saying when!”

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Citroen’s sales success was highlighted in the UK with over 110,000 registrations last year, an increase of 9.2%. That makes the UK Citroen’s third biggest market globally, behind China and France. However, those figures included DS models, which will be sold separately in 2015.

Jackson reiterated the three pillars that underpin all new Citroen products: design, comfort and useful technology. She also revealed how the success of the C4 Cactus is having a bearing on product technology: “It shows the sort of thing we’re going to be doing in the future,” she said. “The Cactus is the spirit of what we’re going to be doing.”

However, in spite of Citroen winning the World Touring Car Championship, there are no plans to add sporty models to the range.  “The idea of high performance versions doesn’t fit in with our strategy,” said Jackson.

Eco cars are on Citroen’s agenda, though, as Jackson explained: “Electric and hybrid cars are part of the PSA strategy,” she said, “We will have plug-in electric vehicles when they’re available throughout the group.”

Do you think Citroen is right to roll-out the C4 Cactus design accross its range? Let us know in the comments section below...