Paris show: Citroen to go PHEV
BY RON HAMMERTON | 12th Sep 2018
CITROEN will use its home-town motor show in Paris for the world premiere of its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), the C5 Aircross Hybrid, in early October.
Although the French company is calling it a concept, a production version is a certainty, possibly emerging by the end of 2019 – Citroen’s centenary year – to top the company’s flagship range that is only now being launched in conventional petrol and diesel forms in Europe.
In announcing the Parisian debut for the C5 Aircross Hybrid concept, Citroen held back powertrain, performance and specification details, saying only that it would have a zero-emissions mode that would contribute to its greater comfort levels.
Reports from Europe suggest that EV driving range will be about 60km, with power coming from a 147kW petrol engine and two electric motors for a combined power output of 220kW applied through all four wheels.
The C5 Aircross Hybrid launch marks the start of a range-wide push into electrification by Citroen which has promised to have an electric option across 80 per cent of its range by 2013 and 100 per cent by 2025.
Citroen Australia has not yet disclosed if the five-seat C5 Aircross will make it to Australia where, should it get the green light, it will join the C3 small hatch, C4 Cactus compact SUV and seven-seat Grand C4 Picasso people-mover in local showrooms.
With Citroen planning to re-launch its brand in Australia, the C5 Aircross would seem to be just the thing to jump-start sales in this market where it would go head-to-head with top sellers such as the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4, as well as European imports such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and sister company Peugeot’s related 3008.
If the PHEV version also gets the tick for Australia, it will go up against Mitsubishi’s pioneering Outlander PHEV.
The C5 Aircross has already been launched in China where it is made for that market in Chendu in two four-cylinder petrol forms.
In Europe, the vehicle will come with a selection of petrol and diesel engines, with some hooked up to the company’s new eight-speed automatic transmission.
