Citroën XM - History

History

Launched on 23 May 1989, the XM was the modern iteration of the Big Citroën, a replacement for the Citroën CX. It was intended to compete against vehicles like the Audi 100 and BMW's 5-series in a sector that accounted for 14.2% of the European market. Citroen was quoted as saying that the car was supposed to "take what Citroen means and make it acceptable". The car's initial reception was positive. The XM won the prestigious European Car of the Year award for 1990 (gaining almost twice as many votes as the second, the Mercedes-Benz SL) and went on to win a further 14 awards that year.

The anticipated annual sales were in the order of 150,000 units in Europe. Sales never reached this level for a variety of reasons. The market for executive cars made by mainstream manufacturers was in decline as customers opted for offerings from more prestigious marques such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz; in parallel customers were placing a higher priority on speed and handling rather than ride comfort which was Citroen's specialty. The XM was underdeveloped at launch which resulted in reliability problems; the vehicle as designed was inconsistent in its abilities. The XM's styling was also controversial and alienated those who desired a more conventional three box sedan. Most subjective of all was the matter of the XM not living up to the expectations created by its forerunner the Citroen DS, despite that car having been launched in an era of national markets, of different demands and standards, an era when there was more scope for large advances in engineering and design than were possible in 1989.

The XM inherited a loyal global customer base of executive class customers and a clear brand image, but did not enjoy the commercial success and iconic status of its predecessors, the CX and the DS, which both raised the bar of automotive performance for other manufacturers. Export markets experienced lower sales from the outset, partly due to the XM's pricing. The least expensive XM was nearly 50% more expensive at the time of launch than the corresponding CX. Whilst strong at first home market sales also declined, after the mechanical issues of the first few model years became known. Unfortunately it suffered from defective electrical connectors, due to excessive economies on the components, since the parent company was in financial difficulty at the time of the design of the XM. Between 1980 and 1984 the company lost $1.5 billion.

By early 1993 the XM was viewed as an "underachiever". Sales in the UK were at 3500 units a years, making it Citroen's weakest seller. The 2.0-litre petrol engined variants were viewed as being the least competitive. As a result, Citroen restructured the range such that all but the base model petrols were fitted with low-intertia garret turbochargers to add an extra 15 bhp (11 kW; 15 PS). This made the cars more powerful than more expensive competitors such as the Rover 820, Vauxhall Carlton and Ford Granada 2.0 GLX.

In mid-1994 the XM was revised in order to improve competitiveness. All models were fitted with driver's airbag (signalling the end of the single-spoke steering wheel), belt-pretensioners, a redesigned dashboard and upper door casings. The suspension was redesigned to reduce roll, pitch and dive. Most noticeable was the adoption of a passive rear-steering system similar to that on the Citroen Xantia. This sharpened the "steering without inducing a nervous twitch." Power output on the turbocharged motor was increased to 150 bhp (112 kW; 152 PS) from 145 bhp (108 kW; 147 PS) at 4400 rpm. This allowed the car to develop more torque at much lower revs. The important 50-70 acceleration time was 8 seconds compared to the Ford Scorpio 2.0 16V Ghia's 17 seconds. The view of CAR magazine was that this engine "provides unusually swift access to effortless power ... it delivers progressively with commendably little fuss; that this 2.0 turbo is as refined as it is muscular makes the XM's performance all the more creditable."

By the mid-1990s it was apparent that the XM's image meant it was less desirable than German products such as the BMW 5-series. The view of the XM as commercially unsuccessful is reported by Compucars, the used car website, along with numerous other period commentaries (see "Critical Appraisal" below.) Production ended in June 2000.

With total sales over its lifetime of just 330,000 units in more than 10 years and the fact that its replacement took 5 years to arrive, the XM might be considered a failure. This was the case particularly in the United Kingdom market, where demand was reduced to a virtual trickle by the late 1990s. But despite its common roots with the Peugeot 605, the XM may still emerge as a collectible car, as the DS and CX both did.