Here’s a pretty Citroen C-Elysee hatchback, seen in the south of Beijing in China earlier this summer. The C-Elysee looked fantastic, very well-maintained, almost as-new. It is rare to see a Chinese Citroen of this age in this shape.
About the Citroen C-Elysee
The Dongfeng-PSA joint venture produced the C-Elysee hatchback and sedan for the Chinese car market. Production started in 2008 and ended in 2013. The Citroen C-Elysee was an updated variant of the Citroen Elysee, which was a modernized variant of the Citroen Fukang. All of these cars were ultimately based on the Citroen ZX.
The update included an all-new front with the Citroen logo integrated into the grille. The headlights and bumper were new, too.
Characters: 东风雪铁龙, Dōngfēng Xuětiělóng, Dongfeng Citroen. Dongfeng-PSA produces Citroen and Peugeot-branded cars. At the time, the Citroen cars had “Dongfeng Citroen” badging, and the Peugeots had “Dongfeng Peugeot” badges.
The interior
Citroen had updated the interior too, with a new CD radio player and new buttons and switches. The overall design, however, didn’t change compared to the Elysee. The beige color was typical for China-made Citroens in that period. The owner has added brown seat covers and a fancy neck pillow.
The rear bench looks like it hasn’t been used, ever. The beige fabric seems completely original.
Specifications
There’s a racy spoiler and a shiny chrome strip between the lights. Citroen offered only one engine for the entire 2008-2013 production run of the Citroen C-Elysee: a 1.6-liter four-cylinder petrol unit with 106 hp (78 kW) and 142 Nm. The hatchback had a 185 km/h top speed, and 0-100 took 12 seconds. The C-Elysee consumed 7.8 liters of fuel every 100 kilometers.
The C-Elysee badge. The Chinese name of C-Elysee was 爱丽舍, Àilìshè.
Sales, and Citroen’s downfall
In the 2000s, Citroen was one of the most popular brands in China, mostly inside the Top 10, and the C-Elysee was its most popular car. It was a good-looking car with lots of space and some basic luxuries. It was also easy to get and maintain, with Citroen dealers everywhere. In 2013, the C-Elysee sold for only 73.800 yuan. Citroen replaced it in 2014 with an all-new C-Elysee, but that was a sedan-only model.
Citroen continued to do well, but sales started to fall after 2020, when Citroen was overtaken by local brands and surprised by the speed of the EV revolution. Today, Citroen has dropped down to the 66th (!!!) spot in the sales rankings in China. The brand sells only two models: the C5X and the C5 Aircross. It won’t be long before the brand exits China altogether. Happily, a car like today’s C-Elysee is a perfect memory of Citroen’s good old China days.