Peugeot, Revamping Citroen Brand, Introduces Mid-Sized C5 Car
Paris, Sept. 27 <A HREF="aol://4344:30.bloombrg.389091.602536905">(Bloomberg)
</A> -- PSA Peugeot Citroen unveiled its new C5 car as it tries to brighten
up the dull, conservative image of the Citroen brand and boost sales among
younger buyers.
The C5 has the curves and bubble-inspired styling of the Xsara Picasso, a
compact minivan that went on sale in December. Though it's intended as an
update to the mid-sized Xantia, the C5 contains many luxury features, so it
also fills a gap left after production of the XM, which sold poorly, ended.
``After dumping the XM, they were without an executive car,'' said Charles
Moss, the head of product analysis at J.D. Power & Associates-LMC in Oxford,
England. ``They perceive C5 as taking up some of the slack.''
European sales of the XM, which numbered more than 22,000 during its most
successful years, 1993 and 1994, slumped to 6,535 last year. Sales of the
Xantia fell to 122,350 from 196,144 in 1994, its best year.
The C5 and the Picasso are the company's attempt to restyle the Citroen brand
and put an end to its reputation as the poor relation of Peugeot, whose
sporty 206 car has accounted for most of the growth in the French carmaker's
sales.
The C5, which goes on sale in January, is also a showpiece for many of the
company's recent innovations.
``Hydro-active'' computerized suspension adjusts itself to become hard or
soft and high or low, according to the quality of the road.
The lights go on automatically, a system of sensors help with parking, and
emergency braking is made easier by a function that automatically applies the
brakes at the greatest possible pressure.
Peugeot Citroen Managing Director Claude Satinet said the six- cylinder
automatic version of the car will cost about 200,000 francs ($27,000). A
version with a smaller, diesel engine will cost about 170,000 francs.
The company aims to sell 200,000 C5s in the first year, 30 percent of them in
France and 85 percent in Western Europe, including France, Satinet said.
The C5 is the first car to be built on the new No. 3 assembly platform, or
basic engineering structure, including the underbody and major parts, at
Peugeot's Rennes factory in northwest France. Under a plan to merge
production of the two brands around common platforms, the replacement for the
Peugeot 406 will eventually be built on the same production line as the C5.
Development costs of the C5 totaled 5 billion francs, and those of the No. 3
platform a further 2 billion, Satinet said.
The company said the C5 shouldn't be seen as a replacement for the Xantia,
which it will continue to assemble in Rennes until it is phased out in 2003.
``We're committed to the Xantia, and the fact we're going to continue making
it in Rennes means we're expecting there will be customers for the car for
quite some time,'' said Frederic Lepeytre, a Citroen brand spokesman.
The replacement for the XM, currently dubbed C6, will go into production in
2003, based on the same platform as the C5.
A station wagon version of the C5 will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show
early next year.
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