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Citroen C4 Cactus Falling Behind Rivals with 70,000 Sales in First Year

Citroen's recently released flamboyant press statement has let us know that 70,000 European customers have " fallen for the unique personality of the optimistic crossover" we call C4 Cactus. While, at first glance, the numbers are good, we think it shows Citroen may be in trouble.
Citroen C4 Cactus 1 photo
Photo: Citroen
It took them a whole year to sell 70,000 examples of this car, which is not a lot when you consider regular superminis like the Ford Fiesta sell many times more. What's more, Renault managed to sell the first 100,000 examples of the Captur, a direct competitor for the C4 Catus, in just nine months.

Opel's Mokka also performed better, with the first 100,000 units achieved in April 2013 and another 100,000 sold by March 2014. GM's European brand made this possible despite the fact that it initially had to ship cars from Korea.

C4 Cactus pays the price for being different?

Some might say that Citroen tampered with the car formula too much to make the C4 Cactus unique. The tiny crossover is covered in rubber protective surfaces, and its front end design is different… to say the least.

However, we think the real problem has to do with the engineering and packaging. The 5-speed gearboxes used by both Citroen and Peugeot have been widely criticized. Also, the C4 Cactus has no wind-down rear windows. After the novelty wears off, some customers might find needed features are missing.

Modern car customers aren't fooled by Citroen's quirky features. For example, the front seats are connected, like a sofa. But what exactly are you supposed to do with that, seat three people? No, that's illegal.

From the start of the launch campaign in France, The C4 Cactus had a €2,000 official discount, and this was later increased to €2,500. The incentives are only going to intensify this Summer, as a new commercial will be released as well as a "money back guarantee" of sorts where they let you have another Citroen if you suddenly dislike the one you bought.

Since January 1st in France, Citroen has only shifted about 9,000 units., against the 29,316 of the Captur and 27,949 of the Peugeot 2008. The C4 soft-roader is the 23rd best seller in the country while the straightforward Peugeot 308 is a top performer. This Cactus is by no means a bad car, but Citroen needs to rely more on engineering and less on marketing.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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