At the 81st International Motor Show in Geneva, CITROËN will display a product range that embodies the brand's core values of creativity, technology and daring.
After the CITROËN DS3, the DS4 is further proof of "Créative Technologie". The newcomer fully honours the DS philosophy, with bold stances on style, sensations, architecture and refinement. The DS4, voted most beautiful car of the year by 60,000 Internet users from 62 countries, is a high four-door coupé combining vitality and versatility and offering an unparalleled driving experience. At the Geneva Motor Show, the CITROËN DS4 will be displayed alongside a new concept car, the DS4 Purple, an object of desire and distinction that subtly reworks finishes from the jeweller's craft.
Innovation is on show in the form of e-HDi micro-hybrid technology, fitted on a number of models in the range, including the Berlingo, making its debut with this technology. The Hydractive suspension system, a CITROËN world exclusive available on the C5 and C6, is a unique combination of energy and comfort, providing maximum well-being for the occupants while adapting to road constraints for optimum safety. CITROËN is also confirming its strong performance on CO2 emissions, with an average reduction of 5.3 g/km in 2010, for an average 132.3 g/km.
At the end of 2010, CITROËN released two fully electric models – the CITROËN C-ZERO and the Berlingo First manufactured jointly with Venturi Automobiles®. Citroën is also a facilitator of mobility with an unprecedented service: CITROËN MULTICITY, a new development in car hire and travel planning, enabling people to choose and reserve the most suitable transport mode for their needs.
CITROËN is continuing its involvement in motor sports with the new CITROËN DS3 WRC. Racing in the 2011 World Rally Championship, the new model complies with this year's new regulations. CITROËN aims to win a seventh Manufacturer's World Championship title.
Developed by CITROËN'S design office in Shanghai, the METROPOLIS concept car, exhibited at Expo 2012 and seen by 10 million visitors, is now making its European debut. A true work of art, the concept car embodies CITROËN'S commitment to developing innovative prestige vehicles for Europe and China, a country that is now CITROËN'S second-biggest market by volume.
Through unusual and expressive colours and materials, CITROËN is reinventing codes and dazzling audiences with the C3 Red Block and the C6 Noir et Blanc.
The second opus in the DS line, the CITROËN DS4 fully honours the philosophy of the DS line, which brings motorists bold choices in terms of style, sensations, architecture and refinement.
From the first glance, the DS4 reveals the special features that make it unique, with a raised body dominating the road and a panoramic windscreen for a wider view of the world. The CITROËN DS4 expresses its exclusive nature through the staging of chevrons on the radiator grille, the DS logo on the hood and light guides visible day and night. Its refined and powerful profile features chrome detailing surrounding dark-tinted side windows, muscular wheel housings that highlight the large wheels – up to 19 inches – and a tautly styled roof culminating in a contoured rear spoiler for an extra dose of vitality. Like the exterior styling, the interior conveys strength, energy and refinement. Arm-chair-style front seats in a "watchband" design and full-grain leather, a contoured dash with exceptional tactile quality, and a panoramic windscreen extending back into a dark roof all reflect the CITROËN DS4's strong personality.
With road handling to match its style, the new shape of this raised four-door coupé promises unique roadholding and makes travelling and movement irresistible.
The DS4 was voted most beautiful car of the year by more than 60,000 Internet uses from 62 counties. The prize was awarded at the ceremony of the 26th International Automobile Festival in Paris on 27 January.
Some 500 privileged buyers in France, Germany and Switzerland will be able to pre-order their vehicles online and will be the first to drive a DS4.
The CITROËN DS4 is also being exhibited in a special version, the DS4 Purple. An object of desire and distinction, the concept subtly reworks finishes from jewellery, classic in luxury craft but rarely applied to cars, for a different kind of elegance for the most discerning aesthetes. Sporting matte plum body paint, the DS4 Purple is enhanced with champagne-coloured chrome, brushed and unbrushed, and various special finishes in the same tones on the headlamps, wheels and badges.
Innovation and creativity are designed to enhance the well-being of users of CITROËN vehicles. The Marque's strategy is based on three priorities, with e-HDi micro-hybrid technology currently in deployment, Hydractive suspension on the two executive sedans, the C5 and C6, and work on vehicle engines and environment to cut CO2 emissions.
Available on a number of models in the range – the C3, DS3, C4, C4 Picasso and C5 – e-HDi micro-hybrid technology is set to be extended to further CITROËN vehicles. Geneva is an opportunity for CITROËN to show the CITROËN Berlingo e-HDi, which will be launched in 2011, for the first time.
The CITROËN e-HDi models offer lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The average reduction is 5 grams per 100 km. In the city, the technology cuts fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 15%.
optimises battery charge and the supercapacitors, by recovering energy during deceleration, with a slight increase of the engine brake.
A unique combination of dynamism and comfort, the C5 and C6 are available with Hydractive suspension, a technology exclusive to CITROËN in the automotive segment.
The Hydractive III + suspension on the C5 has two springing and damping settings to manage suspension in real time for optimum adjustment to the requirements of the road and the driver. The C6 also has continuously adjusted electronically controlled springing and damping, taking the already exceptional comfort of the C5 to an extra level. On both models, real-time control is provided by numerous sensors that detect the requirements of the driver and the road conditions, ensuring safety and road-holding as well as occupant comfort.
A sports mode is also available. The driver can activate a control on the central panel for more dynamic road behaviour, with the emphasis on roadholding rather than ride comfort.
Management of the suspension is combined with real-time control of vehicle attitude. Ground clearance is kept constant regardless of the vehicle's load, with automatic lowering of the ground clearance at high speeds to boost aerodynamics and reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The ground clearance can also be increased to clear obstacles at low speeds.
The C5 Tourer versions have a push button in the boot to temporarily raise or lower the loading sill for easier loading.
The electronically controlled attitude makes maximum use of the axles to ensure optimum safety.
Lastly, CITROËN is confirming its strong performance on CO2 emissions, with an average 5.3 g/km reduction in 2010, for a 132.3 g/km average in Europe 15 countries. The Marque leads the way in sales of vehicles emitting less than 111 g/km of CO2, with a 15.2% share of the market.
The full-electric technology developed by CITROËN is one of the solutions used to reduce fuel consumption and emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.
With the C-ZERO, CITROËN is enhancing its A segment range with a 100% electric solution: zero fuel, zero pollutant emissions, zero CO2 emissions while driving and zero noise pollution. The model is the very expression of the Créative Technologie that inspired its development. The CITROËN C-ZERO was designed for urban and suburban mobility, with its compact body, surprising performance and enough range for everyday trips. It is also silent, allowing you to forget city noise.
With advanced technology, including a lithium-ion battery, the CITROËN C‑ZERO also benefits from the experience of CITROËN, which has already sold more than 5,500 electric vehicles. With the Berlingo First Electric, also in the catalogue, CITROËN has the know-how to become a leading actor in a market that is set to grow in the coming years.
CITROËN has already registered 1,800 electric vehicle orders, including 1,300 C-ZERO, and the first deliveries of the two models were made in late 2010.
The new mobility service, CITROËN MULTICITY is open to all users without a contract. The new services makes CITROËN a travel facilitator.
A CITROËN Car Call service. Available across France, this car-hire service can be used to rent a vehicle for as little as an hour and up to several days. In the largest French cities, the car can be delivered in less than 3 hours to the place of your choice.
The 'CITROËN MULTICITY' journey-planning website. Factoring in all modes of transport, the itinerary calculator proposes customised responses. Users can also book airline tickets, hire cars and reserve hotel accommodation online. This innovative service saves time and facilitates travel of all kinds. The website will offer users customised areas with dedicated products and services to better use of their cars, such as downloadable maps for onboard navigation systems, service contracts, etc.
CITROËN RACING is embarking on a new chapter in its history by entering the DS3 WRC in the 2011 World Rally Championship, with the aim of winning a seventh Manufacturer's World Championship title. The Citroën Total World Rally Team is entering two teams: Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia. Three other DS3s will be entrusted to private drivers.
A concentrate of Créative Technologie, the CITROËN DS3 WRC complies with the new regulations. It is more compact than the C4 WRC and powered by a 1.6-litre direct-injection turbo engine. Coupled with all-wheel-drive transmission, the gearbox is manual and the power distribution between the front and rear axles is constant.
The METROPOLIS is another landmark CITROËN. A sleekly designed limousine with harmonious lines, it embodies CITROËN'S desire to offer innovative prestige cars in Europe and China alike. To meet the expectations of the fast-growing Chinese market, the concept car was entirely developed by CITROËN'S international design team, based in Shanghai since 2008.
METROPOLIS resituates the codes of luxury and attraction in CITROËN'S world of Créative Technologie. With its imposing stature (5.3 m long, 2 m wide and 1.4 m high), Metropolis expresses a vision of creative, sophisticated luxury, the reflection of the ambition and size of the country it was designed for.
Exhibited at Expo 2010 Shanghai, CITROËN METROPOLIS was seen by more than 10 million people in the French Pavilion, which was the most visited pavilion of the international event.
CITROËN is out to surprise with the C3 Red Block, a muscular version of the C3, with an assertive, extroverted personality.
Presented in matte Thorium (grey) livery, the Red Block sits 15 mm lower than the regular model and boasts 17-inch glossy black diamond-effect wheels. On the outside, the weatherstrips, the lower seal on the rear flap and the wheel nut covers are highlighted in a completely new pearlescent red. A gloss black finish has been applied to the bumper strips and air intake surround at the front, the headlamp recesses, the mirror housings and the decorative seal of the Zenith windscreen to underscore the contrasts. Inside, the pearlescent red colour is echoed on the seats. The C3 Red Block also overturns conventions with a dashboard featuring a contoured 3D fascia band illustrating a Bulldog.
Geneva is an opportunity for CITROËN to display its flagship vehicle in a dynamic, modern livery developed by the colours and materials unit at the Style Centre.
Featuring a satin pearlescent white body and a lightly embossed, two-tone black lacquer roof, the CITROËN C6 Noir et Blanc also has 18-inch diamond-effect wheels, glossy chrome window rims and gloss black fittings, such as for the rearview mirror housings.
The interior of the C6 Noir et Blanc is upholstered in black club leather on the seats and on the door panel insets, offset by white club leather on the "horse shoe" and pearlescent white lacquer trims. The woodwork is covered in a microfiber fabric with a soft "peachskin" feel.
A dynamic and creative brand, CITROËN launched the DS3 in 2010, the first model in the distinctive DS line, which is being extended this year with the DS4 and DS5. With more than 90 years of "Créative Technologie", CITROËN is marketing two "Full Electric" vehicles, vehicles fitted with 3-HDi micro-hybrid technology and soon the "Full hybrid" HYbrid4. The brand is also innovating in services with CITROËN MULTICITY, stage one in its range of mobility services. CITROËN has 10,000 customer contact points, employs 11,500 people, has operations in 80 countries, and sold 1,460,000 vehicles in 2010.