Citroen South Africa has launched Freedrive, an optional extra that enables new-car customers to convert their service plan (which is standard on all models except the entry-level C1) to a full maintenance and warranty plan at the dealership.
Now they can also upgrade their standard warranty to five-year year or 100 000km coverage.
Citroen SA managing director Frederic Chapuis explained: “There is still a perception that Citroen is an expensive brand to own in the long term.
“But parts surveys such as the Kinsey Report prove that our pricing has become highly competitive in the past year while delivery times to dealership have been dramatically reduced.”
The service-plan conversion along with its extended warranty cover forms part of the new Citroen Commitments umbrella, which also includes a mobility plan, under which any customer with a service or maintenance plan will be offered a courtesy vehicle if the car can’t be repaired due to non-availability of parts.
Chapuis said: “Freedrive is comprehensive and has no hidden clauses, excluding only tyres and lubricants between services - and anybody who’s bought a new Citroen in the past twelve months and hasn’t yet taken it for its first service will qualify to to buy the Freedrive contract retrospectively.
“These innovations go a long way to dispelling the notion of uncertainty in owning a Citroen and add real value by pegging long-term costs,” he says.
“The new developments will put us on a path to achieve a target of 4000 new vehicle sales this year – more or less double what we achieved in 2010. Being able to offer a range of light commercials soon will allow us to reach a far greater share of the total market and contribute to that success.”