There are none between Ballarat and Adelaide and there are none between Adelaide and Perth!
The Peugeot and Citroen dealership in Adelaide has no presence here at all. You wouldn't even know there was a dealership in Adelaide.
INCHCAPE To Show Us How To Sell Citroens?
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
There are none between Ballarat and Adelaide and there are none between Adelaide and Perth!
The Peugeot and Citroen dealership in Adelaide has no presence here at all. You wouldn't even know there was a dealership in Adelaide.
Here is how it looks graphically:
I annualised the Jan-Feb 2020 sales which might be hopelessly wrong although given the current general economic outlook, maybe not!
In any case, the long term trend is poor and Inchcape's "reboot" clearly hasn't worked. As I have mentioned before, I am not sure that they have PSA's best interests at heart.
I can't find any figures for the Xara, Xantia and Berlingo, but I did found the figures for 2008, which was their record year.
2008 figures:
C2 - 99 units
C3 - 423 units
C4 - 1,149 units
C5 - 363 units
C6 - 19 units
C4 Picasso - 264 units
Berlingo - 335 units
Dispatch - 51 units
Total - 2,703 units
I did come across sale figures for Lada - 1989 (3,098 units) and 1990 (2,161 units).
Thanks for those 2008 figures. I always wondered how many C4's were sold as I owned a 2008 model. You still see the older C4's around.
They were the glory days. Interestingly these were the days when we got the full range of passenger models (C2 to C6) and overall they were pretty good models. As well the Berlingo was a popular model. And the importer of the day at leasy did some advertising. Remember the adds for the Xsara with the dancing robot and Claudia Schiffer. They were even giving away Xsara's on "The Price Is Right".
Now in 2020, there are no passenger cars and no more Berlingo's and hardly any advertising. The only offerings are SUV styled cars, the decision which has been made by the head company and PSA. Not everybody wants SUV's. The current C3 & C5 Aircross models don't do it for me.
I really fear that Citroen will disappear from Australia. Hopefully PSA will take over from the private importers and sell their Citroen/Peugot/DS models directly. Possibly together with Opel which they purchased recently.
And with Holdens demise, it would make sense for them to snap up some of their former showroom sites and set them up as Citroen/Peugot/DS/OPEL showrooms. I think that could work here very nicely.
gembee
They were the glory days. Interestingly these were the days when we got the full range of passenger models (C2 to C6) and overall they were pretty good models. As well the Berlingo was a popular model. And the importer of the day at leasy did some advertising. Remember the adds for the Xsara with the dancing robot and Claudia Schiffer. They were even giving away Xsara's on "The Price Is Right".
Now in 2020, there are no passenger cars and no more Berlingo's and hardly any advertising. The only offerings are SUV styled cars, the decision which has been made by the head company and PSA. Not everybody wants SUV's. The current C3 & C5 Aircross models don't do it for me.
I really fear that Citroen will disappear from Australia. Hopefully PSA will take over from the private importers and sell their Citroen/Peugot/DS models directly. Possibly together with Opel which they purchased recently.
And with Holdens demise, it would make sense for them to snap up some of their former showroom sites and set them up as Citroen/Peugot/DS/OPEL showrooms. I think that could work here very nicely.
gembee
Sadly, I only have Peugeot individual figures for those years, but I have annual figures for Citroën:STALLED said:
| 1991 | 99 |
| 1992 | 59 |
| 1993 | 57 |
| 1994 | 112 |
| 1995 | 227 |
| 1996 | 201 |
| 1997 | 302 |
| 1998 | 461 |
| 1999 | 562 |
| 2000 | 652 |
| 2001 | 1005 |
| 2002 | 1705 |
| 2003 | 2309 |
| 2004 | 2400 |
| 2005 | 3005 |
| 2006 | 3507 |
| no data | |
| 2013 | 1180 |
| 2014 | 1307 |
| 2015 | 1108 |
| 2016 | 965 |
| 2017 | 735 |
| 2018 | 494 |
| 2019 | 400 |
An importer serious about increasing sales would begin by a careful analysis of why those who bought Citroens (and Peugeots) in their thousands in the years after 2000 now do not have anything to do with them.
2007 - 3,803 units - Citroen - That is their record year in Australia.
Thanks for the other figures.
With Holden now gone and reading today that Honda Australia could also exit the Australian market, it makes me wonder if Citroen and Peugeot or any of the other bottom feeders, can sustain any sort of presence in the Australian market in this current economic climate. Plus, having over 50 brands represented in a market with a population of 25 million, something will have to give.
Holden died because GM were no longer going to engineer any future product for RHD markets. Honda is considering leaving, not because of RHD, but because they can't seem to make it profitable here. Honda do have 3 options - Leave the Australian market altogether, reduce their dealer network or have a third party import their vehicles (Inchcape). I, like most, believe Honda will just reduce their dealer network. But when you consider both of these brands sold over 40,000 vehicles each in Australia in 2019, it makes you wonder how the others seem to do it?
Will Citroen and Peugeot survive in Australia? I really hope so!
Both companies produce right hand drives for the English market and supply a number of low volume right hand drive markets. A lot depends on how profitable this low scale marketing appears on the corporate balance sheet. Inchcape has downsized the dealer network to match declining sales rather than make any attempt to reverse it. To expand the market share again would be expensive but quite possible if the will is there.
Sentiment and respect for past relationships are not noticeable values at PSA. But if a viable business case was made for reinvestment in an Australian operation they may respond as they have in Kenya (Peugeot only).
Sentiment and respect for past relationships are not noticeable values at PSA. But if a viable business case was made for reinvestment in an Australian operation they may respond as they have in Kenya (Peugeot only).
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I think that's the current problem. We don't have that.
Not sure why everyone is worried.
Sub-600 sales for Citroen seem par for the course, judging by that history of sales figures. The 1000+ heydays seem like outliers.
In the past couple of years Citroen have been in a massively declining sales market; they have been suffering the cost of a weaker and weaker $AUD; they have read the economic conditions and slashed the dealer network; and they have managed to post a modest increase in car sales over the past 18 months (cars as a proportion of their business.)
This is me being the perennial optimist - it’s easy to whinge and be fatalistic, pessimistic, and filled with doom and gloom. Far harder to look for the positives and to try and see a way forward.
I actually think it is possible for them, and an improvement seems already to be in motion. There seems to be some will here - I do think they could have packed up a long time ago, but there clearly is a genuine desire to try and stick it out.
But the “premium pricing” is going to be be very hard to weather in the looking recession (and it’s going to be a recession before you even add bushfires/coronavirus into the equation.) People will be looking for cheap, not so much cheerful. I don’t know that Citroën can provide that pricing model. So they are just not going to be able to approach a mainstream brand.
Their nieche is small, sure. Very small. And you could triple their sales and still say they are a very very small nieche. But maybe that’s the nieche they simply have to play.
Marketing Citroen’s to Aussie’s seems a lost cause. Ever been on forums like Whirlpool? Filled with people that wander on saying “nah don’t buy a French car.” I have seen over the past few years more than one very keen buyer of a Grand Picasso be dissuaded by dissenting opinions on the forums. (And also one that gave up after not being able to organise a test drive despite ringing a number of dealers.... so really, who is to blame?)
Sub-600 sales for Citroen seem par for the course, judging by that history of sales figures. The 1000+ heydays seem like outliers.
In the past couple of years Citroen have been in a massively declining sales market; they have been suffering the cost of a weaker and weaker $AUD; they have read the economic conditions and slashed the dealer network; and they have managed to post a modest increase in car sales over the past 18 months (cars as a proportion of their business.)
This is me being the perennial optimist - it’s easy to whinge and be fatalistic, pessimistic, and filled with doom and gloom. Far harder to look for the positives and to try and see a way forward.
I actually think it is possible for them, and an improvement seems already to be in motion. There seems to be some will here - I do think they could have packed up a long time ago, but there clearly is a genuine desire to try and stick it out.
But the “premium pricing” is going to be be very hard to weather in the looking recession (and it’s going to be a recession before you even add bushfires/coronavirus into the equation.) People will be looking for cheap, not so much cheerful. I don’t know that Citroën can provide that pricing model. So they are just not going to be able to approach a mainstream brand.
Their nieche is small, sure. Very small. And you could triple their sales and still say they are a very very small nieche. But maybe that’s the nieche they simply have to play.
Marketing Citroen’s to Aussie’s seems a lost cause. Ever been on forums like Whirlpool? Filled with people that wander on saying “nah don’t buy a French car.” I have seen over the past few years more than one very keen buyer of a Grand Picasso be dissuaded by dissenting opinions on the forums. (And also one that gave up after not being able to organise a test drive despite ringing a number of dealers.... so really, who is to blame?)
They say don't buy a French car because the journalists tell them so.
I have often heard it, and astonished these people when I point out that PSA cars I and my family have are cheaper to run than the Germans, particularly as we can easily find non-dealer parts and they are no more prone to failure than others. I have the records to prove it.
Dealer parts and service pricing puts many people off. Look at some of the stupid quotes for trivial jobs like pads that get mentioned here.
I have often heard it, and astonished these people when I point out that PSA cars I and my family have are cheaper to run than the Germans, particularly as we can easily find non-dealer parts and they are no more prone to failure than others. I have the records to prove it.
Dealer parts and service pricing puts many people off. Look at some of the stupid quotes for trivial jobs like pads that get mentioned here.
Ominously the PSA press release detailing their strategies and providing a review of small regional markets does not mention Oceanie. Companies that produce 3.5 million vehicles per year are not always interested in selling tiny numbers in difficult markets.
If we look at PSA corporate performance last year a profit of $AU1645 per car was made with an operating margin of 8.5%. That would equate to just under $4000 at retail level (perhaps half that wholesale) to PSA on the vehicles in the mid $40k range in Australia. That doesn't leave a lot of leeway for Inchcape to run an import operation on or offer favourable pricing. I doubt PSA feels any obligation to the Australian operation and will only invest on a reasonable prospect of growth and profit.
If we look at PSA corporate performance last year a profit of $AU1645 per car was made with an operating margin of 8.5%. That would equate to just under $4000 at retail level (perhaps half that wholesale) to PSA on the vehicles in the mid $40k range in Australia. That doesn't leave a lot of leeway for Inchcape to run an import operation on or offer favourable pricing. I doubt PSA feels any obligation to the Australian operation and will only invest on a reasonable prospect of growth and profit.
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With COVID-19 running rampant and decimating industries left right and centre, these numbers become more meaningless, but for those playing at home:
March VFACTS numbers for PSA:
[FONT="]Citroen Berlingo 0
Citroen C3 8
Citroen C3 Aircross 5
Citroen C4 Cactus 1
Citroen C5 Aircross 9
Citroen Dispatch 0
Citroen Total 23[/FONT]
[FONT="]Peugeot 2008 16
Peugeot 208 0
Peugeot 3008 65
Peugeot 308 15
Peugeot 5008 22
Peugeot 508 19
Peugeot Boxer 1
Peugeot Expert 9
Peugeot Partner 15
Peugeot Total 162
So Citroën kinda holding steady with its low but consistent numbers of 20-something cars a month.[/FONT]
March VFACTS numbers for PSA:
[FONT="]Citroen Berlingo 0
Citroen C3 8
Citroen C3 Aircross 5
Citroen C4 Cactus 1
Citroen C5 Aircross 9
Citroen Dispatch 0
Citroen Total 23[/FONT]
[FONT="]Peugeot 2008 16
Peugeot 208 0
Peugeot 3008 65
Peugeot 308 15
Peugeot 5008 22
Peugeot 508 19
Peugeot Boxer 1
Peugeot Expert 9
Peugeot Partner 15
Peugeot Total 162
So Citroën kinda holding steady with its low but consistent numbers of 20-something cars a month.[/FONT]
This economic crisis is probably going to spell the end for at least one of these brands [emoji25]
It’s much more likely to affect Inchcape, rather than Peugeot or Citroën.
Yes, sorry that's what I meant - but the end of these brands in Australia.
Ditto for your comments in support of Renault parts pricing versus some others (well most!!)