Basalt Kicks Off New Naming Convention For All Citroën Models Worldwide

Citroën is all set to launch the Basalt – a compact coupe crossover in India, and then elsewhere, later this year. With it, the Citroën Basalt brings a new tradition for the storied French brand. After several years of using the alphanumeric nomenclature for all its cars, Citroën will gradually transition to using actual names for its models. This is a major shift in the company’s strategy and identity. There are several reasons for this, and the timing is also interesting. And what’s more, it’s happening with India as the first market to spark the change. Speaking to Acko Drive, Thierry Koskas, Global CEO of Citroën said, “Actually it came with the opportunity of the next car for Citroën in India. Because as we are offering something that is completely different in terms of shape, we said okay, we don't want to have numbers anymore. We are going to surprise the market also with a name, so we go with the name. And then we thought oh, maybe that's not a bad strategy. So we will extend it worldwide. But it came from India.”

The C3 / C3 Aircross in India carry the same names as models sold in Europe, but are not the same cars.

One of the primary reasons for doing this is also to remove confusion within its model lines going forward. The company has recently embarked on a massive expansion plan just a few years ago – entering new markets and exploring volume and profits outside its traditional markets within Europe so far. This has meant a dual strategy – using different platforms and aggregates for vehicle lines for Europe, and those for emerging markets. But Citroën still relied on the existing naming convention, which caused confusion. The C3 / C3 Aircross in India for instance carry the same names as models sold in Europe, but are in fact not the same cars at all. And it is similar with other markets and models too. The Citroën C3 hatch won 2023 World Urban Car for instance, but this was not the European model – though has been confused as such.  

The launch of the Ami in 2020 saw the revival of the nameplate which was used from 1961 to 1978

Citroën has recently showed off a brand new design language too. This was preceded by the brand changing its logo as well – going back to the company’s very first upright oval logo that was used by Andre Citroën when he founded the company in 1919. That was first shown on the Oli concept in Sept 2022. The logo also meant that the double chevron pattern of the company’s mark now moves out of the grille design for the first time in decades. All this leads to the fact that things are changing at Citroën, and changing fast. And hence the management saw it as the right time to go back to having car names. After all, the brand has names like Xsara, Visa, Berlingo, Axel, and so many more. And also the legendary Traction Avant and DS. The small electric quadricycle Ami launched in 2020 did see the comeback of a proper name (and also revived a nameplate the company has from 1961-78). But the first proper car to get the new naming convention is the Basalt. Thierry says the replacement of model names will happen in a progressive manner worldwide, and as new generation cycles take over, the C3 or C5 type of names will become history.