Stellantis’ Citroen To Focus On Lower Prices Amidst European “Cost-Of-Living Crisis”

It looks as though it isn’t just Tesla participating in a price cut war to win business.

Stellantis’ Citroen is also joining the fray, according to Bloomberg, who reported on Thursday that the brand is now going to focus more on making “accessible” cars. CEO Thierry Koskas is likely targeting an ongoing cost-of-living crisis taking place in Europe, the report said. 

The manufacturer is targeting India, South East Asia and South American markets with its new India-made C3 Aircross SUV, according to the note. Koskas said India “is a very specific market. We can only establish ourselves here if we design vehicles for India that can be built in India with as much local content as possible.”

He continued: “We are not a low-cost brand but we need products targeted to our customers’ needs. Citroen clients don’t need technology Christmas trees or screens everywhere.”

The company is launching an “international offensive” with hopes of expanding beyond Europe, Bloomberg wrote. 

Tesla also recently “cut prices in numerous European markets including Germany and France because of a scaling up and improvement in its production capacity.” 

Prices in Germany for the Model 3 and Model Y were cut between 4.5% and 9.8%, marking the second price cut for the country this year, the report says. Singapore saw price cuts of between 4.3% and 5% and Israel saw price cuts of an astounding 25% for the base rear-wheel drive Model 3. 

Pricing is becoming an issue not just overseas, but also in the United States. The company closed its first quarter with record deliveries hitting over 423,000 units worldwide, using price cuts throughout the quarter to help move metal. As Bloomberg calculated last week, the latest price cuts on the Model Y makes it a third cheaper than it was at the start of the year, in part due to the introduction of a new lowest level trim.

The most recent cuts to Model X and Model S prices came on March 6, a little more than a month ago, when the company reduced the starting prices for the S and X in the US by 5.3% and 9.1%, respectively, to $89,990 and $99,990. Additionally, the higher-performance Plaid version of the Model S and X had been lowered by 4.3% and 8.3%.