Citroën aims to grab 10% of the burgeoning European B-segment by 2012 with the launch of the new generation C3, upmarket DS3 and new C1 models over the coming months.
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That’s a big sector, and it’s growing as car buyers downsize and look for more fuel efficient cars. Last year the B-segment account for one third of the 15m European car market and this is expected to rise to 40% over the next two to three years.
The increase in market share will run in tandem with Citroën’s CO2 reduction strategy that will add a new stop-start system plus new five- and six-speed transmissions next year and a three-cylinder petrol engine from 2012 that will bring emissions down well below 100g/km.
The first move towards this target is the current launch of the redesigned C3, a model that has sold some 2m world-wide since it first took to the road in 2002 – it’s sold just about everywhere except North America.
The second generation car has a couple of ‘firsts’ of its own – the first model to carry Citroën’s new corporate ID in the shape of restyled chevrons, and the first car (as distinct from the C4 Picasson MPV/minivan) from the French carmaker to use the panoramic Zenith windscreen, a whopping 1.3m long, taking up around one third of the roof, as well to give an extraordinary field of vision. (GM Europe offered a similar, though smaller, screen on its outgoing fifth generation three-door Astra.)
Manufactured in France at Citroën’s Aulnay and Poissy factories near Paris, the new C3 will be launched in Europe from November and will be available in the UK from around the end of January next year. The first generation is also made in Brazil but it is not yet known if and when its successor will follow.
The C3 will be sold here in the UK with three core trim levels – VT, VTR+ and Exclusive with a special Airdream+ edition emitting just 99g/km of CO2. All markets are expected to be offered a sub-100g/km variant and Airdream is the name given to the UK’s version powered by a 90bhp, 1.6-litre, HDi diesel engine with five-speed manual transmission.
UK prices are expected to start at around GBP10,800 (US$17,200) rising to GBP16,200 ($25,860) for the range-topping 1.6HDi, 110bhp Exclusive. The engine choice is four petrol and four diesel with the 1.4 VTi 95bhp and 1.6 VTi 120bhp co-developed with BMW, which uses variants in the Mini line.
Unusually for a full model change, Citroën has reduced the C3’s weight despite improving refinement and increasing interior space. This was achieved by taking a ground-up approach to the redesign and using every possible method to make the car lighter.
Styling was dictated by architectural constraints targeting weight loss – for example, the choice of a rectilinear rather than angled dashboard cross member. A new rear axle also reduced weight by 13kg.
Using part by part analysis, engineers reduced the weight of components while ensuring that integrity was retained in terms of stiffness, acoustics, impact resistance, and so on. The aim was to optimise both the mass and the technical quality of each part.
Despite being just 3.94m in length, making it the smallest in the class compared with rivals such as the Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Renault Clio, the C3 nonetheless has more interior space because the dashboard has been raised and the seats are thinner. Legroom is up 8cm in front and 3cm in the back.
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