Citroen chief commits again to Australia

The clock is starting now, once again, for Citroen in Australia.

The French brand is on the comeback path in Europe and is in Australia is aiming to avoid its past mistakes to drive forward with a fresh model line-up under a (relatively) new importer, Inchcape Motors.

The renewed commitment from Citroen comes right from the top. Global CEO Linda Jackson last weekend jetted into Australia for Citroen’s 100th anniversary celebrations at Motorclassica in Melbourne.

Jackson is happy to admit the many mistakes of the past, from wrong models and drivetrains to an under-involved importer, but says she has just hit the re-set button in Paris.

She also rejected any hint of a withdrawal from Australia.

“To be honest, I didn’t think about shutting down Australia. But we need to modernise ourselves,” Jackson told carsales.

“When you’ve been here for 97 years you have to say we must have a legacy here and we must be able to rebuild something. We need to have something that’s relevant.”

Jackson’s quick trip to Australia is one in a long series that has taken her around the world and to other relatively-small markets, including Turkey and Chile.

Although Australian sales are unlikely to even reach 500 cars in 2019 she says it is still a worthwhile market.

“It’s an opportunity. I don't turn down any opportunity. You only need 10 markets like that and it starts to add up.

“Each country is important. Some are smaller volumes, some are bigger. Our aspirations in Australia are obviously conservative, because they need to build,” Jackson explained.

Jackson is brutally honest in her assessment of how Citroen has done Down Under in recent years, but is more confident for the future.

“Anyone who says it will change overnight, to be honest, is spinning a yarn,” Jackson says.

“First you have to have the product. Now, we have to make the position relevant for Australians. That’s the piece of work we need to do.”

The situation in Australia is not new for Jackson, a Briton who got the top job at Citroen in 2014 off the back of success in the UK.

“I was given this job to rejuvenate Citroen. I think it went through a stage where it had lost its go, its mojo. My challenge from 2014 was to create a completely new position.

“We had to rebuild a completely new product plan. We had to rebuild completely in terms of brand position. We had to build the marketing, the tone of voice, whatever touch-point you talk about, we have rebuilt.

“It is a strategy delivering very good results in Europe so we know it works. It’s a global approach but we need to make sure we have the local touch.

“What we are doing now is rolling it out around the world. It’s South America, China, and Australia becomes part of that,” Jackson explained.

She says Citroen’s SUVs are a key to the new strategy but also promises that unique needs in Australia, including air-conditioning that works properly are being fed into the future.

Jackson’s visit is giving her on-the-ground feedback and input at all levels.

“We want to become international. You cannot take something from Europe and plonk it in Australia. You need to go and you need to understand. It’s action packed.”

The Citroen boss admits one of the toughest challenges in Australia is finding a place for the French brand that is more than just quirky -- although she concedes that quirky can have its positives in a crowded ‘brandscape’ filled with me-too cars.

“What is the way that Citroen can stand out? That is the piece that we are working on,” she says.

“The first thing we’ve done is bring product that is relevant, in SUVs, to the market. The next thing we’re tackling is the experience of the customers.

“Maybe it’s talking about how we can be innovative in how we come to the market. At the same time we’re looking at how we can make ourselves more impactful, and talk about lifestyle and experience.”

So Jackson is building a big picture, but she is not promising a big bag of Euros from Europe to fund the changes, or even an overnight turnaround.

“It’s going to take time. Citroen was something. But it has aged and we need to bring it into the modern approach and make sure it’s relevant.

“We’re on a journey and we’re only at the start of the journey. We’ve literally only just got onto the bus,” she quipped.