[DC-93]

Makes sense.

 

[Adventurer55]

From the article:

AutoExpress recently had the chance to chat with Citroen chief executive officer Vincent Cobee during the UK launch of the new Citroen C4 X. What Cobee told the online publication sounds pretty radical to us considering the current market share for crossovers and SUVs. “The world of SUVs is done,” Cobee said but honestly, we’ve reached the point where we can’t even imagine a world without new SUVs. Cobee at least admitted that the “numbers are not telling me I’m right” right now.

So, what’s the reason for the CEO’s prediction? The SUVs are simply not aerodynamic enough and with the growing aerodynamic requirements for EVs, these generally larger and less streamlined machines could become a dying breed. “On a battery EV, if your aerodynamics are wrong, the penalty in terms of range is massive. You can lose 50 kilometers between good and bad aero, and between an SUV and a sedan you’re talking 60/70/80 kilometers very easily,” Cobee summarized.

But there are other reasons, too. An SUV is generally significantly heavier than a hatchback, a sedan, or even a station wagon. And more weight means more resources needed for the production of the vehicle. And when you add that bigger SUVs need bigger batteries to deliver an adequate range compared to lighter vehicles, the situation looks even worse, Cobee said. Limitations in terms of battery size and vehicle weight will also come in the future. “People will start limiting weight and battery sizes, either through tax, through incentives, through regulation, through naming and shaming,” Citroen CEO added.

Full article here:

Citroen Boss Believes EVs Will Kill SUVs Because They’re Not Aerodynamic (motor1.com)

No SUVs in the states will be a company or a career ending move. They better figure out how to make them work on an SUV.

 

[LouJC]

just shove what you deem to be "correct" down the buyer's throats
thank God for used cars

 

[voiceofstl]

Citroen Boss Believes EVs Will Kill any cars larger then a fiat 500 Because They’re Not Efficient.

 

[GasAxe]

For a manufacturer, the only “correct” vehicle is the one that sells profitably while meeting all the legal conditions in the market.

 

[Zagnut27]

Did SUV’s die because they get poor gas mileage because they are bigger, heavier, and less aerodynamic? Nope. They are still being purchased by those who accept the gas mileage for what it is. Less range for an SUV? That amounts to the same thing,

 

[Gerry G]

One missing piece in his argument is producing what the consumer wants. The auto landscape is littered with good products that the consumer did not want (or possibly in his mind - did not know they wanted). If his argument were valid, there would be no way to keep the 500e from flying off the show room floor; last I checked this was not the case.

Need to keep in mind the differences between the European market and the North American market. I see his argument as being valid for Europe, not so for North America.

 

[LouJC]

More proof that Euro managers don't comprehend the US market. What works there and sells there will be a dismal failure here.
Citroen tried to sell their high tech but unreliable cars here before, Renault tried to sell their very comfy and characteristically French cars here, both failed dismally. Meanwhile VW who was selling cars far behind them technically and in terms of safety as well (I'm talking 70s era Beetles etc) sold well here. In fact their sales didn't drop till the Beetle was way beyond its prime and the first run of the Rabbit was frightfully trouble prone (no surprise it was just like Audis of that era). Why? The Germans understood that good dealer support and customer service was important to Americans, the French and Italians did not.
This is why Euro ownership of US companies doesn't work. Not with Daimler not with Fiat or Stellantis, not in my opinion at least.
Daimler sucked all the money out of Chrysler and starved it for new product
FCA neglected Chrysler and Dodge, focusing on Jeep & Ram, wasted time on pointless Fiat models etc
Stellantis, hasn't changed much from FCA, Chrysler and Dodge are both on life support.

 

[somber]

I don't accept statements like this. It's similar to statements made recently by a couple of auto CEOs that BEVs will never be as inexpensive as ICE vehicles. I see both statements as being equivalent to saying: "Energy density and cost per kwh in EV batteries has reached its optimum - there will be no future advances in chemistry, packaging, or manufacturing that will significantly improve EV battery energy density or cost per kwh". Just look how much they've improved in the last 20 years. How can you predict what will be discovered?

 

[77 Monaco Brougham]

just shove what you deem to be "correct" down the buyer's throats

? Wasn't that the way Damn-Liar Benz operated for over 100 years!?

 

[Adventurer55]

More proof that Euro managers don't comprehend the US market. What works there and sells there will be a dismal failure here.
Citroen tried to sell their high tech but unreliable cars here before, Renault tried to sell their very comfy and characteristically French cars here, both failed dismally. Meanwhile VW who was selling cars far behind them technically and in terms of safety as well (I'm talking 70s era Beetles etc) sold well here. In fact their sales didn't drop till the Beetle was way beyond its prime and the first run of the Rabbit was frightfully trouble prone (no surprise it was just like Audis of that era). Why? The Germans understood that good dealer support and customer service was important to Americans, the French and Italians did not.
This is why Euro ownership of US companies doesn't work. Not with Daimler not with Fiat or Stellantis, not in my opinion at least.
Daimler sucked all the money out of Chrysler and starved it for new product
FCA neglected Chrysler and Dodge, focusing on Jeep & Ram, wasted time on pointless Fiat models etc
Stellantis, hasn't changed much from FCA, Chrysler and Dodge are both on life support.

There are many companies here in the US owned by European firms. The most successful ones either understand the American market themselves or have mostly American management. The problem with Stellantis here is I'm not sure the American management understands American tastes. Ram and some Jeeps notwithstanding.

 

[pumadog]

What does Citroën have to do with American tastes? The brand is not sold in NA, so Cobee's assessment should be seen in a more euro-centric context.

 

[LouJC]

Nothing, and why if there is too much French influence on US Chrysler products they will suffer in our market.

 

[Dave Z]

I'd just ignore that statement given that most of the new EVs seem to be in pickup and SUV format.

 

[tabutler]

I don't think EV will kill SUVs. Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are tall hatchbacks that they call SUVs. I think we will see more tall hatchbacks SUVs as the trend.