Citroen leaves Australia after more than 100 years, importer focuses on Peugeot

French car brand Citroën car will soon leave local showrooms as the brand’s local distributor turns its attention to its more successful sibling, Peugeot.

Inchcape Australia today announced it will close orders for new Citroen models on 1 November 2024.

Once all orders are filled, the company will move to operating only at its existing 35 service centers.

All Citroen orders placed by Australian customers before 1 November will include a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, fixed-price servicing and the brand’s service packages.

“While we recognise and celebrate Citroen’s long history in the Australian market, we must look to the future and consider the rapidly evolving, dynamic and competitive nature of the local industry and market, along with the changing needs of consumers,” said David Owen, General Manager of Citroen Australia.

“The decision to cease sales of new Citroen Australia vehicles was not made lightly; it was made after careful consideration of the current and future product offerings available in our country, the local market context and the preferences and requirements of Australian new car buyers.

“We remain steadfast in our goal of putting the customer at the center of all our activities.

“We know there will still be Citroen owners in Australia, with many Citroens still on the road, and our passionate Citroen Australia team and dealer network are committed to supporting our customers’ ongoing vehicle maintenance needs.”

Currently, Citroen only sells four models in Australia: C3 backdoor, C4 high trap door, C5 Air Force SUV and C5X forklift.

The Citroen C5 X plug-in hybrid, due to arrive in Australia later this year, will be the brand’s last new model to hit local showrooms.

The decision comes amid a decline in the brand’s sales, which have fallen from a peak of 3,803 annual deliveries in 2007 to 175 in 2021.

While Citroen’s business has improved slightly over the past two years, recording 228 deliveries in 2023, the 87 cars registered so far between January and July is down 35.6% compared to the same period last year.

Citroen’s disappointing sales results leave it just ahead of luxury brands McLaren and Rolls-Royce in Australia, and being overtaken by Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari and Lotus.

The company’s departure will mark the end of more than 100 years of operations in Australia, after it signed its first formal agreement with a local importer in 1923.

The Citroen 5CV was the brand’s first model to be available in Australia, initiating the longest continuous presence of any car manufacturer in the local market.

While sister brand Peugeot has been here before, it has left and returned to the Australian new car market several times.

Peugeot has also been much more successful in recent years, achieving 2,516 deliveries by 2023 and registering 1,341 new cars locally so far this year, almost as many as Citroen has sold since 2019.

Citroen is also the second brand operated by automotive group Stellantis to leave Australia in three years, after Chrysler closed its local store in late 2021.

Citroen car sales in Australia

Source: Federal Chamber of Commerce for the Automotive Industry (FCAI) VFACTS Annual Report

THAN: Everything Citroen