Citroen returns to midsize segment with category-blurring C5 X

PARIS -- Citroen is returning to the midsize segment after an absence of two years with the CX 5, a car that the brand says combines the best attributes of a sedan, a station wagon and an SUV.

The C5 X, the brand’s new flagship model, will debut at the Shanghai auto show, which opens with a press day on April 19.

The car will go on sale in the second half of the year in China and Europe. It will be built in a Stellantis-Dongfeng joint venture plant in Chengdu and will be available in gasoline and plug-in hybrid versions. Citroen has not released prices.

The C5 X could help Citroen end six years of declining sales in China.

The C5 X rides on the same EMP2 architecture as the Peugeot 508 L, a China-only version of the midsize fastback with an extended wheelbase to give more room for rear-seat passengers.

Like the 508 and another sibling model, the DS 9 (also assembled in China), the C5 X will be offered with an optional plug-in hybrid powertrain, as well as gasoline and diesel models for Europe.

The C5 X’s styling cues include an extended, sloping rear roof line with two small spoilers, similar to that of the recently launched Citroen C4 compact, which also has some crossover appeal. SUV-like elements include black plastic wheel arch trim and bumpers that hint at skid plates. Tall and narrow tires ride on 19-inch wheels to provide an elevated driving position.

“It’s aimed at people who are used to a higher driving position and ease of entry and exit but don’t want SUV styling,” Citroen CEO Vincent Cobee said. “It has the space and functionality of a station wagon.”

Cobee said the C5 X would appeal to buyers of midsize sedans and station wagons, as well as compact SUVs.

Other automakers have used a similar hybrid silhouette in the past, including Lexus, with the IS300 SportCross, and Fiat, with the Croma, both in the 2000s. 

Citroen last competed in the segment with the C5, in sedan and station wagon versions, which was dropped from its lineup in 2019. Since then the flagship has been the compact C5 Aircross SUV.

The traditional “three box” midsize sedan segment has been under pressure from SUVs, a fact that Cobee acknowledged, but he said that it still remained vital in China, a market that Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has made a priority this year. “The midsize sedan segment is three times bigger in China than in Europe,” he said.

The midsize segment was led in Europe last year by the Volkswagen Passat, with 115,763 sales, according to JATO Dynamics. The Passat was followed by a VW Group sibling, the Skoda Superb, with 60,254 sales; the Peugeot 508, at 28,741; and the Ford Mondeo, at 21,453. Total segment sales were 297,863, a 29 percent decline.

The majority of C5 X buyers in Europe are expected to be fleet customers, in line with the rest of the segment.

Features on the C5 X include a 12-inch horizontally oriented central touchscreen, a new infotainment interface, and the latest version of Citroen’s active suspension, which uses progressive damping at the top and bottom of the suspension travel. On plug-in hybrid versions of the C5 X, there are three suspension settings.

Citroen has not released full technical details, but said the plug-in hybrid version will have a total of 225 hp, with more than 50 km (31 miles) of pure electric range.

Citroen has not taken off in Asia and relies heavily on the European market, where its sales fell 28 percent last year due to the pandemic.

Cobee told Reuters that Citroen expected to increase its proportion of sales from outside Europe to 30 percent of its total by 2025 from around 15 percent last year. He said the company was targeting annual sales of between 1.3 million and 1.5 million cars in five year's time.

Citroen has posted drops in sales for six straight years. Last year it sold 717,190 vehicles, well below a target of 1.6 million set for 2021.

The plan to build the C5 X in China has stirred sentiments in France, where Citroen has deep roots.

Le Monde newspaper on Monday ran an opinion piece saying the decision sends a “double signal of destruction” by exposing the country’s dwindling role in global trade and its inability to retain production of higher-quality products.

Citroen is not alone in going to China. Renault came under fire last year for deciding to produce a new Dacia Spring electric mini-SUV for Europe in the Asian nation. BMW started production of its iX3 in Shenyang and Tesla Inc. is exporting Model 3s built near Shanghai to Europe.

Some producers are even basing the manufacturing of entire lineups in China, for example Daimler’s Smart and Volvo Car’s Polestar and Lynk & Co, all three of which are jointly owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Stellantis is following a "rational and balanced approach" when deciding where to build its cars, Cobee said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "Manufacturing quality in China is one of best in world."

Sales of the C5 X will “probably be reasonably well balanced between China and Western Europe,” Cobee said.

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report