Citroen gets a stealthy makeover

Citroen showed three new models at Geneva – the estate version of the C5, and the Berlingo and Nemo van-based mini-MPVs. But perhaps a more significant change was harder to spot.

The clues were all over the stand: after 21 years, Citroen's distinctive corporate identity has had a striking but subtle makeover. Red and white are still the corporate colours, though the red is brighter than before. More significantly, there's a new, more elegant and modern typeface, with the Citroen word appearing in chrome letters.

The biggest change concerns the famous double-chevron logo, which is not only freed from its red box and expressed in chrome, but also gets a restyle, with the chevrons losing their pointed tips. It's actually been applied to the rear of some Citroen models in this form – check out most C4 models.

There's been no official announcement, but it's expected that the new identity will be rolled out across the global Citroen dealer network in the near future. It's probably about time – Citroen ID has been unchanged since PSA switched the brand's corporate colour from blue to red in the mid-'80s.

Looking at the Geneva stand, it's easy to imagine the new look for dealers echoing the recent Peugeot makeover, where Peugeot's corporate blue colour is applied to much of the buildings, and the 'Peugeot' text and lion logo are applied in chrome.

It would make some sense for Citroen to echo this – as there are a number of dual-franchise Peugeot-Citroen sites around the world, if not in the UK.

A Citroen spokesman would not confirm that the makeover was about to happen, but he said dealers would welcome the change “if it increased awareness, standing and profitability”.