Citroen CEO explains why French brand will offer an 'SUV with a twist'

Citroen CEO Linda Jackson has pushed to reinvent the French brand since becoming CEO two years ago. She has emphasized Citroen's comfort, youthfulness and vibrancy to differentiate it from PSA Group sister brands Peugeot and DS and from its volume rivals. She said those differences will be very evident when Citroen debuts its forthcoming SUV, which is a key model in Jackson's push to increase Citroen's global volume to 1.6 million by 2021 from 1.2 million last year. She explained why in an interview with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Bruce Gain.

Citroen sister brand Peugeot offers multiple SUVs. What are Citroen's plans for this segment?

Whichever markets you go in, one of the segments that is growing at the moment is SUVs. We have to be present as a generalist brand at the heart of the market by offering vehicles that go from small to large and that includes SUVs. Citroen will have an SUV. We are going to produce a vehicle in 2018 or 2019 [in Rennes, France] based on the Aircross SUV concept we showed at the [2015] Shanghai show.

Where does that leave your customers who prefer minivans?

We are obviously very strong with our C4 Picasso so that when we produce an SUV with a twist, or whatever that will be, we need to keep in mind whether customers will want to go with a traditional MPV [multi-purpose vehicle/minivan] or an MPV SUV.

Wouldn't it make sense for Citroen to offer a more MPV-like SUV to better differentiate it from Peugeot and DS?

We will have to wait and see, but clearly you would be right in thinking that when Citroen launches its SUV it will take into account comfort, space and the ease of use for the customer. That will be our thinking and inspiration, but I am not going to do a traditional SUV. When I launch an SUV, it will take into account that my customer base wants something different to Peugeot's customer base.

How has Citroen evolved as a brand since you became CEO?

We have taken two years to build a coherent new product strategy around our Feel Good message, which started with the launch of the C4 Cactus. It is not just about product, it is about marketing, communication, and about customer experiences and the services that we offer now and in the future. The Citroen stand at [this year's] Paris show was proof that all those things are in place.