French car manufacturer, Citroën, has made its return to the South African market following a three-year absence. The brand’s parent company, Groupe PSA, has reclaimed ownership of Citroën in South Africa and are planning to mark their return with the launch of three new models in the local market.
Citroën marks its return to the South African market with three models – the C3 hatchback, C3 Aircross sports-utility vehicle (SUV) and C5 Aircross SUV. The lowest price of these three models is the C3 60kW manual transmission which will cost buyers R239 900. These three models are expected to sell around 200 000 units combined per year. All these models in South Africa will be sold with a 5-year/100 000 kilometre warranty and service plan.
Citroën to rejoin South Africa on the back of Peugeot
Citroën is an indirect customer of Formex Industries. Our automotive components are sold to the car brand by our 1st Tier supplier customers. The return of the French brand to the South African market is aimed at boosting the profitability of Peugeot Citroën South Africa (PCSA), the company responsible for the sale and marketing of Citroën, Peugeot and Opel vehicles in the country.
“Scale is important. We can launch Citroën, but leverage the same infrastructure we use for Peugeot. It makes our reach wider, and the network more cost-effective and competitive. By launching Citroën, and with little investment, we can double our reach as a company. I’m not adding costs, but I’m adding customers,” says newly appointed PCSA managing director Xavier Gobille.
Citroën and Peugeot will be completely separate brands
He believes that the two French car brands attract different customers, so Peugeot and Citroën can compete in the local market. According to Gobille, Peugeot is aimed more at the premium individualist, while the funky Citroën design is more suited to go-getters and creatives.
Both brands have room to grow in the local market and the showrooms and sales teams will be completely separate, says Gobille. “Customers will feel that Peugeot is a different brand, that Citroën is a different brand,” he explains. He is hoping to have 14 Citroën dealerships set up the end of 2019 and 35 outlets across South Africa by the end of 2020.
However, PCSA will make use of the 25 Peugeot dealerships to provide Citroën customers with accessible service stations. These customers will be able to order and service their vehicles at the Peugeot dealerships until more Citroën outlets have been established.
Image credit: Vauxford
Formex Industries is a metal forming and assembly company that supplies a variety of complex products to the local automotive industry and the export market. The company is based in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole, South Africa’s foremost region for automotive manufacturing and export.
Formex specialises in producing components for the catalytic converter industry, as well as metal components and assemblies for the various vehicles. Formex aims to become one of the foremost suppliers for the South African automotive industry by 2035, aligning itself with the South African Automotive Masterplan (SAAM) which takes effect in 2020.
Formex is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier with over 80% black ownership, of which more than 40% are black women. The company is owned by Deneb Investments Limited – a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI) – one of South Africa’s biggest true B-BBEE companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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