Citroen to exit Australia due to low sales

Despite Citroën’s more than 100-year history in Australia, its sales in the first half of 2024 were still outsold by niche brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Lotus and Bentley.

French car manufacturer Citroën has been operating in the Australian market for over 100 years. In Australia, Citroën is currently the oldest active car company. Despite holding this record, Citroën Australia has been having a very bad sales performance. The outlook is so bad that Ferrari has outsold Citroën in Australia.

Citroen exits Australian market

For reference, Citroen sold just 87 cars in Australia in the entire first half of 2024. 87 in six months! Citroen has exited the Australian market due to difficulties in building a profitable business.

This is an unfortunate development for car enthusiasts in Australia, as Citroën is one of the country’s oldest operating car brands. Citroën has been selling cars in Australia since 1923, while the brand was founded in France only four years ago. Citroën has local production and a strong growth trajectory.

But the outcome is not favorable for Citroën. The company has revealed that dealers in Australia will stop selling vehicles after November 1, 2024. All Citroën sedans and SUVs will cease production in Australia. The company will continue to provide repair and maintenance services and even honor the warranty given by customers at the time of purchase.

Citroen has 35 service stations across Australia, which will continue to provide after-sales services. Currently, there are only nine Citroen dealers active in Australia, and they will continue to sell until November 1, 2024. Vehicles sold by Citroen in Australia include the previous generation C3, C4, C5 Aircross and finally the C5X.

In the first half of 2024, Citroën sold only 87 cars. Analyzing the sales, this is a bit disappointing because Citroën offers cheap mainstream cars that should appeal to the masses. In comparison, luxury and niche brands such as Ferrari, Lotus, Bentley and Maserati sell more cars than Citroën.

The current situation of Stellantis

Citroen parent company Stellantis is currently in a sales crisis. Sales of many of Stellantis’ brands are below average. There are rumors that Stellantis will abandon brands that are not profitable. The group also seems to be rethinking its positioning in underperforming markets (such as Citroen in Australia).

Citroen’s sales in India are also not satisfactory. In July 2024, Citroen sold only 335 units, making it one of the lowest-selling car brands in India. The company has just changed its strategy for the Indian market and launched the more feature-rich 2024 C3. Their latest Basalt coupe SUV was launched at an affordable price of Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom), which is much lower than all its competitors.

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