Internet Sales, the Next Big Thing for Renault's Dacia and PSA’s Rumored Simca Budget Brands

A low-cost company has to find low-cost ways not only to produce, but also to market and sell its products. This is why Renault devised a strategy to sell Dacia models online, through an Internet sales program that will be implemented in Europe.

“Internet sales will quickly become a reality. Many of our customers know what they want before they step into our showrooms, so an online sales channel makes sense,” said Gerard Detourbet, head of Renault's low-cost program.

But that isn't the only reason. Renault will be soon facing the threat of a low-cost rival coming from the French group PSA Peugeot-Citroen. Rumored to receive the abandoned Simca name, the new make could sell its vehicles exclusively through the Internet, as sales chief Jean-Marc Gales hinted at the Geneva Motor Show.

According to Gales, the cars will be built outside Western Europe, possibly in China, and could bring a higher profit margin for PSA than any other low-cost car manufacturer has managed to obtain until now.

"They're all selling cars at lower prices through the same high-cost distribution system that hasn't changed in 90 years. What we're talking about is a radically new approach to car distribution," said Gales. He added that cars will be sold exclusively through the Internet, with test-drive vehicles being offered through rental firms.

In doing so, PSA will not only increase profits, but will also avoid potential damage to the Peugeot and Citroen brands by keeping low-cost cars away from the showrooms.

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Bloomberg

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Citroën to Show DS4 Purple, C3 Red Block and C6 Noir et Blanc Concept Models at the Geneva Salon

With the 2011 Geneva motor show only a week away, Citroën has published photos but very few details on three new concept cars based on the firm's production models that it plans to reveal on March 1. The design studies are the C3 Red Block, DS4 Purple and the C6 ‘Noir et Blanc’.

Starting with the C3 Red Block, the French firm's supermini sports a bespoke matt grey paintjob with red accents on the window line and the 17-inch alloy wheels, plus smoked headlamps and tail lamps, a lowered suspension, and unique interior trim highlighted by the red leather seats, aluminum accents on the steering wheel, door panels and center console, and what the company describes as a "3D Bulldog carved dashboard".

Set to make its debut alongside the final production version of the high-riding DS4, will be a design study called the DS4 Purple, which according to Citroën, "takes inspiration from the techniques of jewellery craft".

The third and final concept is the C6 ‘Noir et Blanc’, which is a study on new colors and materials for the firm's range-topping model.

We'll have more details on Citroen's trio of concept cars at the Geneva Salon next week.

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Vive la DS! Ugo Spagnolo Imagines the Duchesses’ 2019 Successor

Ask any French car fan what the most beautiful and technically advanced executive sedan of the 1950s was and most will reply, “The Citroen DS.” You only need to look at the styling of some of the DS’s competition – take the Alfa Romeo 1900 Ti, Austin A95 Westminster or BMW 501/6 for example – to see just how far ahead of its time it was.

Here was a car with a fully independent and auto-leveling suspension set up, front power disc brakes, power steering, a fiberglass roof and a hydraulically operated clutch and transmission. And the styling...

So if there’s any car worthy of a modern day revival, it’s the venerable DS. While studying at France’s Institut Superieur de Design, design student Ugo Spagnolo took on this challenge as part of his internship with Citroen.

With Spagnolo’s drawings at hand and the help of his friends at the institute, the 3D renders and animation were produced. It is said to have garnered favorable reviews from Citroen Styling Director Jean-Pierre Ploue.

Infusing the DS’s 64-year-old styling with the new Citroen design language introduced through concepts like the Revolt and Survolt, the DS24 is a real looker. With aggressive haunches, sliding rear doors, an almost Corvette-like nose and shapely rump, the Nouveau DS was imagined for Citroen’s Centenary in 2019.

And the interior does not fail to disappoint either, with its pulsing blue transmission tunnel suggesting the raw energy of the car’s hydrogen power source. Is it just me, or does that seem to be designer’s engine-of-choice these days?

Take a look at the pictures (and the stunning and initially seizure-inducing video) and leave your piece in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Cardesign

2019 Citroen DS Design & 3D animation, students project

Ugo Spagnolo, designer.
Aurelien Petit, 3d digital designer.
Benoit Louzaouen, 3d digital designer.
Guillaume Vasseur, 3d digital designer.

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