Citroen CEO Jackson seeks answers to toughest e-vehicle questions

Linda Jackson, who has been CEO at Citroen since 2014, is overseeing an ambitious overhaul of the brand’s lineup with the goal of increasing global sales to 1.6 million by 2020. This year, she has the added responsibility of leading PSA Group’s new low-emissions business unit. Jackson spoke with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Peter Sigal about her dual responsibilities.

What is the goal of PSA Group’s low-emissions vehicles business unit?
We wanted to really focus on our low-emissions vehicles and strategy. Previously we had people working on the product, but we didn’t have a focus on all the other things you have to introduce. How can we sell electric and plug-in hybrids? How can we price them? What is the impact on residual values? We are also looking at the infrastructure, because it’s all very well having electric vehicles to sell, but if you don’t have charging stations, how will you make it work? Then we have another area of focus, which is: What happens after the sale? What do you do with the second-hand vehicle? What do you do with the battery? The [new business] unit has a profit and loss statement, but obviously it’s difficult because some of the things we will put in place are for the long term. The other thing we are doing is talking to energy companies and startups as to whether we need partnerships.

How will PSA achieve the right powertrain mix to meet the EU’s 2020 emissions reduction standards and even tougher targets through 2030?
There are two main ways you can create demand [for a certain powertrain], and we cannot control either. One is incentives from governments, and the second is the rules set by governments. If a city suddenly moves to ban diesels and only lets in electric and plug-in vehicles, for example, that is not something we can necessarily influence, and it won’t be consistent across cities or countries. We also go back to this point: We can produce electric vehicles but you can’t support them without the infrastructure. Governments need to think about what they are doing to support [low-emissions] vehicles.

Are Citroen’s diesel sales stabilizing or still declining?
They are still going down. Citroen is about 50 percent diesel across Europe on average. We can see the take rate declining -- the new C3 Aircross is about 70 percent gasoline. The only area that hasn’t changed is our fleet sales, where they are still predominantly diesel because of total cost of ownership. The minute they change, we will see diesel go down even further. We are not investing in the future of diesel, but what we are saying is that we will provide diesel engines if our customers want them.

You will have a plug-in hybrid version of your largest vehicle, the C5 Aircross, starting in 2020. How will you persuade your customers to pay a premium of about 15,000 euros for the technology?
The C5 Aircross starts at about 25,000 euros and goes up to 35,000, but we are pretty certain we will sell 90 percent at the highest trim levels, so we are already at the top end. Of course, there will be a premium for plug-in hybrids, but there will be a premium for every mainstream company. From my perspective, we will need to think about ensuring government incentives for plug-in vehicles because of the cost.

How will you electrify the lower end of your lineup?
The replacements for our small and medium cars will have full-electric versions, using our e-CMP platform. As you go further up the scale, we will have plug-in hybrids on the e-EMP2 platform. Our smallest car, the C1, is on a different platform [B-Zero, shared with Toyota]. I think in the future we will need to think about what those customers want – most are urban, so they will want electric, but will they want that size of car, or a different type? I think that segment will evolve.

Citroen has a new design director, Pierre Leclerc, who comes from Kia and has worked for Ford and BMW. What will he bring to the brand?
Alexandre Malval, whom he replaces, has done a fantastic job, and he has designed all the models we have now, including the replacement of the C3 and the new SUVs. What we want Pierre to do is to bring fresh eyes.