Despite having over 100 years of presence in Australia, Citroen was outsold by niche brands like Ferrari, Maserati, Lotus and Bentley in H1 2024
The French carmaker, Citroenhas more than 100 years of history operating in Australian market. In Australia, Citroen currently holds the record of being the oldest active automotive company. Other than holding that record, Citroen Australia has been registering dismal sales. A prospect so bad, Ferrari is selling more cars in Australia than Citroen.
Citroen Exits Australian Market
For context, Citroen sold just 87 units in Australia throughout the entirety of the first half of 2024. 87 units in six months! Owing to the difficulty of establishing a profitable operation, Citroen has called it quits in the Australian market.
This is an unfortunate development for automotive enthusiasts in Australia, as Citroen is among the oldest automotive brands operational in the country. Citroen has been selling cars in Australia since 1923, just four years after the brand’s inception in France. Citroen has had local production and a robust growth trajectory.
But the outcome has worked against Citroen’s favour. The company has revealed that dealerships in Australia will stop selling vehicles post November 1st, 2024. All Citroen cars and SUVs will be discontinued in Australia. The company will continue to offer repair and maintenance and even honour the warranty periods quoted to customers during the purchase.
Citroen is maintaining 35 service stations across Australia and these will continue to offer after sales service. There are only 9 Citroen resellers currently active throughout Australia and will continue sales till November 1st, 2024. Vehicles on sale from Citroen in Australia are previous generation C3, C4, C5 Aircross and lastly, C5X.
There were just 87 units Citroen managed to sell throughout H1 2024. Analysing the sales, it is slightly uninspiring as Citroen offers inexpensive mainstream cars that should’ve appealed to the masses. In comparison, luxury and niche brands like Ferrari, Lotus, Bentley and Maserati sold more vehicles than Citroen did.
Current status of Stellantis
Stellantis, the parent company of Citroen, is currently spiralling down into a sales crisis. Many of the Stellantis’ brands have reported below average sales. There are rumours about Stellantis letting go of brands that are not making them any money. The conglomerate also seems to be reconsidering their position in low-performing markets, like Citroen in Australia.
In India, Citroen has been registering uninspiring sales as well. With just 335 units sold in July 2024Citroen is among the least-selling car brands in India. The company has just changed their strategies for the Indian market and launched 2024 C3 with more features. Their newest Basalt coupe SUV is launched at an affordable Rs 7.99 lakh (Ex-sh), undercutting all of its rivals by a significant margin.
Also Read – 2024 Citroen C3 launched
