Citroën : renaissance thanks to its design

• Claude SATINET
  Managing director, Citroën
  Member of the PSA executive committee 1998 - 2007
  

Summary

Success of a car manufacturer in a market as competitive as the automobile market is extremely fragile. Citroën is a case in point : following a slack period in 1998 when annual production was only 900,000 vehicles, the past ten years at Citroën have been consistently good with a strong growth phase, sales of 1.5 million vehicles, and a range of models which have re-established the innovative Citroën character. Since the appointment of Claude Satinet to the position of managing director in 1998 when sales were at their lowest, Citroën has increased the opportunities to distance itself from its competitors by emphasising its design, and using a brand strategy with the name 'Citroën' very clearly visible throughout the range of its products.

Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.

• The entire article was written by Élisabeth BOURGUINAT.

To obtain this article, you can :

• download it in French (PDF help) using your password or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference RT160408).

The entire article appears in French in the Journal de l'École de Paris du management N° 73.