Marie-Françoise Zeller (Peugeot) and Vincent Besson (Citroën)

Read “If you can name it, you can recognise it” A history of vehicle naming

Vincent Besson has been Citroën Products and Markets manager since 1996. © Michael Moore

Marie-Françoise Zeller, head of Peugeot’s Customer Research and Marketing Strategy department. © Stefan Meyer

What are the policies of Peugeot and Citroën on naming?
MF. Zeller: Peugeot has always stuck to its three-figure system, with a central zero book-ended by two figures. More than 30 Peugeot vehicles have been baptised with these numbers, including the 202, 205, 306, 407, 504, 607 and 807. The system should be around for a while: following the natural life cycle, each generation replaces the last. The latest newcomer is also the smallest, the 107.
V. Besson: The turning point came in the mid-90s. Since then, we have seriously renewed our range. We’ve nearly doubled our product offering over the last ten years, so we need strong names. We decided to return to an alphanumeric system to manage this expanding range. Thus “C” for Citroën is followed by a digit that indicates the model’s place in the range: 1 and 2 for the smallest models, 4 and 5 for mid-range, and, soon, 6 for the executive range. This system is much clearer for our customers.

Is the strategy working well?
MF. Zeller: Customers are very attached to this system and there are no longer any doubts about its success. Everybody agrees it is an essential ingredient of the brand. The numbers are easily exported to international markets. They are also a distinguishing characteristic.
V. Besson: Yes, absolutely. We decided on a policy of simple names, placing the emphasis on the styling of the vehicles. This is where Citroën’s appeal lies. Maybe family names are more charming than numbers and letters. But first and foremost, it’s the appeal of our models that counts.

Are there any exceptions to these strategies?
MF. Zeller: We give names to our commercial vehicles, such as the Expert, Partner and Boxer. This year’s launch of the 1007 brought about a big change in our passenger car names. We opened up our classic numbering system, doubling the zero to obtain a four-digit number.
V. Besson: We still give names to commercial vehicles like Berlingo, Jumpy, and Jumper, because the range is not quite as wide. This system is working well and looks set to last. We have the possibility to add names to certain models, the C3 Pluriel, for example.

What role does a vehicle name play?
MF. Zeller: Names are an integral part of brand strategy, so the choice of a name is extremely important. We give names to new body styles, concept cars, passenger compartment designs, and even engines!
V. Besson: We give names to children, to houses – to things that are dear to us. And cars fall into this category. If you can name it, you can recognise it. When we choose a vehicle name, we are looking for recognition and appeal, while retaining our distinctive edge. Choosing a name is never an easy task. Sometimes we have to negotiate with other brands for names already protected by trademark. This was the case with C1, which was already the name of a BMW motorbike.

[07/28/2005]