Citroen C4 MPVs drop Picasso name for Spacetourer
Citroen has dropped the Picasso name from its line-upFirm says C4 Spacetourer and Grand C4 Spacetourer monikers are more closely aligned with its largest people carrier
Citroën has dropped the Picasso name from its C4 MPV models in favour of Spacetourer in an effort to align them more closely with its largest people carrier.
A spokesman told Autocar that the newly named C4 Spacetourer and Grand C4 Spacetourer models would now have “a better synergy” with the brand’s larger Spacetourer MPV, which can seat up to nine passengers.
The Picasso name, which has been used on the C4 five and seven-seat MPVs since their birth in 2006, was said to have created an unwanted “break between the mid and large-sized MPVs”.
Citroën said the clearer alignment would better illustrate the trio of Spacetourer models’ close relationship. They’re all built on the EMP2 platform.
Sales of the C4 MPV models have remained strong despite a downturn in the segment’s demand. Citroën sold 99,254 C4 Picassos and Grand C4 Picassos in Europe last year, although that was a 7013-unit decrease on 2016’s total.
The Spacetourer, which was been in production since 2016, falls into a more niche segment and its sales reflect that. The firm sold 8837 Spacetourers in 2017, but the model was in heaviest demand at the end of the year, suggesting it will drastically improve on that number in 2018.
While Citroën’s European sales have remained strong, the brand struggles in China, where its sales were down 47.3% in 2017 amid a slowing economy. Brand boss Linda Jackson told Autocar earlier this year that, excluding China, Citroën's sales rose by 7.5% in 2017.
Citroën’s smallest people carrier, the Berlingo Multispace, is about to be replaced with a new version that will be displayed at the Geneva motor show next week. The new model, which is also built on the EMP2 platform, has inherited the brand’s latest design language.
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