The success of SUVs and crossovers, which has lasted for several years now, has made life difficult for many other segments and types of cars. But those who have made the most of it are the minivans, as demonstrated the farewell just announced by Citroen. Thus closes a chapter that lasted almost 30 years, but as a consequence a new one opens, different and more appropriate to the current times.
Farewell to the Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer
Yes, the Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer is the last pawn of the minivans of the French company, the hardest to die. But with an announcement that has just been shared, Citroen announces the end of the marketing of the latter as well, which thus closes the entire range that for almost 30 years has served many customers in the name of versatile and spacious solutions, perfect for traveling. Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer production in Vigo Spain, in fact it will end in the first days of July, as soon as the order portfolio is exhausted. And so, the curtain closes.
The reasons for the farewell to minivans, as anticipated, are to be found on the one hand in the wishes and requests of customers, which have now changed for years, and on the other in the automotive sector itself, which is consequently pushing with greater vigor towards crossover e SUV (here the ranking of the best sellers). The offer that the French manufacturer addresses to families was recently renewed, and now includes cars such as Citroen C5 Aircross o, New C5 X. For larger families there is still e-Berlingo or e-SpaceTourer.
The minivan chapter of Citroen: a history spanning almost 30 years
It is worth spending a few words to briefly review Citroen’s history in the minivan sector, a successful saga, as defined by the manufacturer himself. Over the course of just under 30 years Citroen has sold nearly 4.5 million people carriers around the world, a saga that took its first steps in 1994 with the Citroen Evasion, which left the scene 8 years later and replaced by the larger and more long-lived C8 (it was marketed until June 2014, incidentally).
But the most successful Citroen minivan, which actually marked an era, was there Xsara Picasso, one of the Italians’ favorite used cars. Introduced in 1998, it achieved 180,000 sales in its first year alone. It went out of production in 2012, realizing more than 1,760,000 worldwide, which when compared to the aforementioned total sales for the entire sector, one immediately senses the weight that Xsara Picasso has played in the segment.
The Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer closes the era of the minivans of the French company.
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The following year, 2013, marked the launch of the current generation, which was already starting to deal with the growing popularity of SUVs, despite sales remaining stable for the next three years at 120,000 per year. And here we come full circle with the Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer, the one who with 352,243 customers around the world pulls down the curtain and leaves the baton to new solutions comfortable and family-friendly, the aforementioned C5 Aircross and C5 X (here you will find the complete price list), cars that inherited the attention to comfort, modularity and excellent habitability from the latter.
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