Citroen Plans Greener C5 by Year-End

PSA Peugeot Citroen engineers are working hard to prepare a more environmentally friendly version of the new Citroen C5 large car before year's end.

The goal is to emit no more than 139 g/km of carbon-dioxide tailpipe emissions, which is 10 g/km less than the car's most-efficient version that will be launched in March.

The 10 g/km-CO2 reduction is enormous. Engineers hope to get 5 g/km or more from new low-rolling resistance tires from Michelin Group and as many as 2 g/km from adjustments to the hydraulic power-steering system used with the 110-hp Hdi common-rail diesel, says Thierry Perron, who is responsible for the chassis on Platform-3 vehicles.

Other gains are hoped for from tuning the engine.

PSA engineers say reducing the mass 220 lbs. (100 kg) would save 5 g/km CO2, as would the Valeo SA-sourced StARs micro-hybrid drive (MHD) system offered on the Citroen C2 and C3. However, neither mass reduction nor stop-and-start is part of the C5 plan for later this year.

StARS combines the alternator and starter functions and allows the engine to stop when the vehicle comes to rest and to start immediately when the driver steps on the accelerator.

PSA promised last year future replacement vehicles would not be as heavy as their predecessors, but the pledge did not apply to projects already under way, including the C5. The new C5 is longer, wider, and 176-265 lbs. (80-120 kg) heavier than its predecessor.

“We wanted seduction, comfort and elegance,” says Vincent Besson, the executive in charge of markets and products. “We couldn't do it in a car with small proportions. Secondly, building in crash protection required a larger car.

“As technology develops, we can have the features that are required in a smaller package, and in several years, we will have a smaller, lighter (next-generation) C5.”

PSA plans to expand the production of stop-start systems to other models in the range, Besson says, but development is not yet ready for the big Citroen.

“We have learned a lot” from the relatively small numbers of stop-start Citroens already sold, and engineers have prepared it for cars with bigger engines.

In a recent interview with European Business Media, Valeo CEO Thierry Morin said, “We are taking more and more orders” for the micro-hybrid already on the Citroens and the Smart MHD, “and you will find it on several French vehicles before the end of the decade.”

Besson says the system adds cost and on large cars requires a second battery. Therefore, it won't be offered until market demand arrives.

Although the green C5 won't reach the 130 g/km (roughly 45 mpg) limit that earns buyers an E200 ($294) bonus in France, it will be a selling point for business fleets under pressure to reduce CO2 emissions.

To do better than 140 g/km is a psychological goal in Europe, because that is the level of fleet-wide fuel efficiency the European auto industry promised for 2008 but will fail to achieve.

Between the station wagon (to be called the Tourer) that goes on sale in May and the sedan, the new C5 will offer 18 different powertrain options, with CO2 ranging from 149 g/km in the 1.6L diesel to 250 g/km in the gasoline-powered V-6 Tourer.

Buyers of 14 models in France will have to pay a CO2 penalty of E200 to E1,600 ($2,351). Base prices range from E21,500-E37,500 ($31,589-$55,100).

The C5 is larger than most of its competitors, including the Ford Mondeo, Volkswagen Passat, Mercedes C-Class, and Audi A4. Size traditionally is a measure of stature in Europe, which the C5 is trying to achieve, although industry trends are moving away from this segment.

According to industry consulting-firm Global Insight Inc., about 9 million cars in the segment were produced worldwide in 2007, a decline from 2003. All other segments increased global sales in those four years.

“The (C5) is well-positioned in size against the VW Passat, Ford Mondeo and Audi A4, and the interior is very well positioned in the segment,” Besson insists. “We are in the heart of the market now.”

Citroen aims to sell 150,000 C5s annually, more than the previous-generation model. Besson says the predecessor was designed when the auto maker only had 10 different silhouettes and had to make compromises to try to appeal to a wider band of customers. Now there are 17 different Citroens.

“With more silhouettes, each car can be more specific, aiming for specific customers and designed with less compromise,” he says. “We have a C5 that is less complex, free of constraints.”

Although large sedans are declining in popularity, they still represent 21% of the European market and are often the choice of the business fleets that Citroen is targeting. Overall, 60% of cars in the segment are purchased by fleets. In the U.K. and Germany, alone, the figure is more than 70%.

Public Concern With Climate Change Helping Shape European Cars
subscribers.wardsauto.com/ar/public_concern_climate/index.html

New C5 Designed With Split Personality
subscribers.wardsauto.com/ar/c5_split_personality/index.html