New Elysee sales to grow more in tier-2 market

Shanghai, March 24 (Gasgoo.com) The all-new Citroen C-Elysee hatchback released in late Feb by Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Auto Co. (DPCA) sold more than expected last month, and the sales of the new Elysee series reached 6,307 units in February, 35.3% more than the sales target and up 202% form a year earlier, xinhuanet.com said today.

In 2008, the new Elysee sold more than 5,000 units monthly for five straight months, and in January 2009, its sales reached a monthly high of 7,500 units, also setting a monthly sales record of a single Dongfeng Citroen model.

DPCA said that the target market of its new C-Elysee is not limited to cities, but will spread over and dominate tier-2 and tier-3 markets. Various promotional activities have boosted Elysee's brand image and acceptance in these markets, where customers are more interested in a car's practical purposes and performance-price ratio.

In 2008, the sales of DPCA's new Citroen C-Elysee reached 55,205 units, rising 75% from its sales in 2007 and exceeding this sedan model's sales target by 10%. The new C-Elysee posted the fastest sales growth last year for the first time in China's sedan segment of this kind.

The new C-Elysee high sales record encouraged DPCA to launch its new C-Elysee hatchback model last month to meet the market demand. This year, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen will also launch two other new Citroen models: C-Quatre sedan and new C5.