Citroen will continue making quirky cars

Could some of them make their way to the United States?

After briefly flirting with the status quo, Paris-based Citroën re-embraced the quirkiness it has historically been known for, and this time it's not looking back. The company will continue to release unconventional cars in the coming years, according to one of its top executives. Some might be sold in the United States sooner or later.

Citroën expanded its line-up of SUVs and crossovers in record time. With most of the gaps filled, it's turning its attention to other body styles.

"There are not only SUVs in the world; there are hatches, saloons, and estates, and there are lots of markets in which these other types of car play a role. That means we have to give an answer [to meet that demand], and we will," said Xavier Peugeot, Citroën's head of product planning, in an interview with Autocar.

The sedans, hatchbacks, and station wagons the firm released from the middle of the 1990s to the middle of the 2010s lacked Citroën-ness; they were solid and comfortable, but bland and ordinary. Peugeot explained his team "will not consider additional silhouettes in a classical way" while pointing out the company's DNA "is rooted in a bold capacity to shake the rules and move the standards."

The C4 Cactus is a good example of how Citroën can re-invent its entry into a segment. It replaced the C4, which was the firm's answer to the Volkswagen Golf, but it wears a design motorists either love or hate, and it's instantly recognizable as a Citroën thanks to the plastic Air Bump stripes affixed to the body. Peugeot stopped short of revealing what his team has in store for Citroën's future line-up, but we expect to hear more about it this year as the firm celebrates its 100th birthday.

Citroën parent company PSA will send its Peugeot brand back to the United States in the early 2020s; some insiders peg its return as early as 2023. While plans to re-establish Citroën in America haven't been announced yet, Peugeot's return paves the way for other PSA-owned brands (including Opel) to sell cars on this side of the Atlantic sooner or later.

Citroën Cactus M concept pictured. Photo by Ronan Glon.