Autocar

New C4 to gain from shift back to diesel, says Citroën

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CITROEN WILL OFFER diesel versions of its new C4 alongside electric and petrol variants because it has seen a steady revival for the fuel.

The new C4 hatch will go on sale in the UK next year and Citroën expects it to be one of its best-selling cars, matching sales of the C5 Aircross SUV.

Robert Clark, Citroën’s product marketing boss, said he expects C4 sales to be “additional volume for the brand, compared to where we are today”, rather than merely filling the gap left by its C4 Cactus predecesso­r.

Citroën predicts the electric ë-c4 will account for 10% of the model’s sales, with diesel making up 17% of the combustion car’s sales.

“We’ve noticed a bit of a shift [towards diesel] from the beginning of this year,” said Clark, “which has come from the fact that we’ve helped explain to our dealers the benefits of diesel for customers.”

The uptick in demand for diesel was most notable in sales of the C5 Aircross, which have been 70% diesel so far in 2020, compared with just 30% last year.

Diesel engines available with the new C4 include a Bluehdi 110 unit paired with a six-speed manual gearbox and a Bluehdi 130 option with an eight-speed automatic.

Citroën’s larger diesel engines – the Bluehdi 160 and 180 – are being phased out of the UK market.

 ??  ?? Diesel, petrol and all-electric C4s will go on sale in the UK next year
Diesel, petrol and all-electric C4s will go on sale in the UK next year

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