Citroen – French Cars

Citroen Removes Egyptian Commercial for Being Insensitive Towards Sexual Harassment

French car manufacturer Citroen has removed an Egyptian commercial starring actress and pop star Amr Diab for being insensitive towards sexual harassment.

The French carmaker has a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and reiterated that the commercial was removed in line of the same.

The advertisement showed Diab using the car’s camera to photograph a woman crossing the streets, apparently without the consent of that woman. There was constant criticism on the advertisement online, with journalist Reem Abdellatif calling it to be creepy.

“Who thought it would be a good idea to make an ad that enables sexual harassment in a country where 98% of women reported getting harassed at some point in their lives?”

Another user said, “What’s painful about Amr Diab’s advert is that the entire crew did not realise the mistake. No-one in the crew objected to taking pictures of girls in the streets without their consent. This is so sad.”

Citroen reacted to the negative feedback immediately and removed the advertisement from their social and streaming pages. The car manufacturer apologized for the negative interpretation in the film, which escaped their eyes at the time of formulation.

“Citroën cares for all communities in the countries where we operate and we do not tolerate any form of harassment.”

It added: “We deeply regret and understand the negative interpretation of this part of this film. With our business partner in Egypt, we took the decision to withdraw this commercial from all Citroën channels and we present our sincere apologies to all offended communities by this film.”

Amr Diab has so far not commented on the criticism. The news of the advertisement being removed was welcomed by Netizens who were previously surprised at the message being highlighted and displayed within it.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_c2yNylxi8

French Manufacturer Citroen Jumps Into the Indian Market with Rs. 29.9-lakh C5 Aircross SUV

French cars have long been making news across the globe for their innovation and superiority in design. Another French carmaker, Citroen has decided to amp its manufacturing process by jumping into the vast Indian market with a 29.9 lakh Aircross SUV modeled. The model is valued at 2.9 million Indian Rupees and fits the general space requirements of Indian families.

“We are not running away from brick and mortar dealerships,” said Saurabh Vatsa, senior director (marketing and corporate communications) at Citroën India.

“We chose to enter the market with C5—the premium flagship model of Citroën as it’s a new brand for Indian consumers and it’s important that they see the best from the company to establish the credentials of the brand,” he said.

“Instead of bringing a low trim, low cost model, Citroën has chosen to bring the top of the line model. The top down strategy bodes for India and will help the company establish the brand,” mentioned an Indian market analyst. A high focus on digital play will facilitate a low cost structure.

The Indian market is ready for growth potential and French car manufacturers can reap rewards by jumping into it.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX5cUBSp-7U

Citroën blocks Polestar 2 in France over ‘too-similar logo’

French car brand Citroen has taken Swedish Company Polestar to court over the alleged use of its trademark logo. Citroen is vying to block the sales of Swedish electric car brand Polestar in France on the grounds that their logo is too similar to the iconic chevron logo that the car manufacturer currently has.

Polestar has started production on its electric 2 model in China and was expected to launch it in France by the start of 2021. Polestar carries chrome, 3D logo, which Citroen blames is too-similar to their chrome chevron logo.

The court notice said, “The Polestar Performance company has harmed the reputation of French trademarks 3422762 and 3841054 owned by Automobiles Citroën.”

The French website for Polestar is current displaying this message, “Access to the Polestar site is not accessible to the French public due to territorial restrictions on the use of French trademarks n°016898173 and n°01689532.”

The website then goes on to offer an international number that leads to a voicemail asking you to leave your contact details to be contacted later. Polestar’s reputation, which was already reeling from electric glitches in two of their previous vehicles, has further been damaged by this scandal.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IifJLUdK2Ag

Falling Pound Drags Groupe PSA Alongside

The United Kingdom is not the only one that faced a setback with Brexit. Sales figures from the PSA Group show a drag-down effect due to the falling pound. With a 2.4% fall in Peugeot, 12% in DS, and 14% in Citroen, it has become a matter of great concern for the PSA Group.

PSA revealed the declined sales figures last week on 26^th of October, 2016. It was a shocker for many as the group had, just about ten days earlier, made a statement about buying 30% stake in a French online retailer, Aramisauto.

The PSA Group also puts out their effort to target a staggering sales target of 800,000 to be reached within six years from now. Major investors have already started doubting the potential, keeping in view the unstable pound situation.

On the other hand, PSA’s head of used-cars division, Marc Lechantre, has shown great interest in tapping the used-car market, and thinks that it holds great potential.

The third quarter has been absolutely dreadful for the PSA Group. The Chief Monitory Officer, Clotilde Delbos, stated merely hours after the release of the figures that the 331 million pound fall was a ‘massive hit’.

Will A British Woman Ultimately Take Citroën To Newer Heights?

Linda Jackson, the CEO of Citroën, has recently been named as the most influential British woman in the car industry.

During the course of her career, Linda Jackson has proved herself worthy of all the accolades and acclaim that came her way. She is not only the first British CEO of Citroën, but also the first woman ever to hold the job.

Appointed in June 2014, Jackson took charge of Citroën in troubled times when its parent company PSA Peugeot Citroën was struggling to curb losses in some of its traditional markets. But her vision was clear. “We want to be more creative, affordable and offer things that really matter to mainstream customers,” she said in an interview back then.

She has definitely delivered on the promise of creativity. One of the examples is the C4 Cactus which featured sleek and slim headlights, innovative plastic side panels, and pop-out rear windows. The Cactus was an instant hit with those who wanted style with substance but at an affordable rate.

It seemed that, with the C4, Jackson had achieved her vision of designing vehicles that were “between different and bizarre.”

However, not everyone is satisfied. Bertrand Rakoto, an automotive consultant, claims “the problem with Citroen is nobody knows exactly what its positioning is compared to the Peugeot brand.”

How successful Jackson’s business strategies are in the future still remains to be seen.