Citroen may make a comeback to North America – which it abandoned in the 1980s – via Canada.
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“If we can homologate our cars in Canada, it’s a potential,” Frederic Banzet, Citroen’s vice-president of international sales, told WardsAuto.com, adding: “We’re looking at it.”
Ward’s noted that Canada’s rules on automotive homologation are not as strict as those in the US, and cars such as the Smart Fortwo and the GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co.–built Chevrolet Epica and Optra are sold there but not in the US.
To which just-auto adds other models such as Toyota’s five-door Yaris hatchback and Nissan’s X-Trail small SUV. There are also naming differences on models also sold in the US and you can also buy a Suzuki-Swift-badged version of the Chevrolet Aveo hatchback there.
WardsAuto.com said Canadians buy about 1.6m light vehicles per year, of which a little more than half are passenger cars, the sector in which Citroen would compete – the French auto maker won’t have a cross/utility vehicle to sell until next year.
Well-established generalists that don’t manufacture in Canada, such as Volkswagen and Nissan Motor, sell about 30,000 units a year in the country. The top-selling European car in Canada in 2005 was the Mexican-built Volkswagen Jetta, at 18,202 units. The top-selling import was the Mazda 3, at 50,713 units, the trade publication added.
WardsAuto.com also noted that Citroen has been expanding rapidly overseas, last year selling 244,000, or 17.5%, of its annual volume of 1,395,000 vehicles outside Europe. In the first half of this year, Citroen sales were down 2.2% in Europe but up 19.2% elsewhere.
The report said Canada’s conservative government is developing new rules for automotive emissions for 2010 called “Green Plan Two” that could make Canada more attractive for Citroen, thanks to its diesel engines.
If the new rules favour greenhouse gas emission reductions, it will boost the case for diesels. If the rules penalise nitrogen-oxide production, it could hurt Citroen’s chances, WardsAuto.com said.
It added that, until 2010, Canadian automakers are working under a voluntary plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.8m tons a year. If the entire gain were made through better fuel economy, the average new car would improve from 26 mpg and modern European diesels are about 25% more fuel efficient than petrol engines.
“North America is talking about diesels,” Citroen’s Banzet told WardsAuto.com. “In Canada they are a good move for the environment. With the particulate filter, the diesel is the best answer today.”
He reportedly said that in the US “there is a gap between the character of our products and what is needed,” but in Canada, Citroen has a special advantage.
“There is a Francophile attitude, at least in Quebec,” he told WardsAuto.com, which would help Citroen sell cars there. Quebec accounts for about 23% of the total Canadian market.
After Citroen pulled out of North America, enthusiasts privately imported cars. For a long period, new Citroens sold in other markets carried under-bonnet labelling specifically stating they did not comply with US federal laws in an effort to discourage such ‘grey’ imports.
