French cars

All interviewees agree on the fact that French brands have a highly competitive pricing strategy (including maintenance fees), using expressions like “interesting price”, “affordable” or “accessible”. However, for two interviewees, the value for money is disappointing. We can notice that these two interviewees have the highest income of our sample and consider that safety and comfort are the most important factors of influence.

 

Overall, the French cars quality is considered as acceptable by our interviewees, with descriptions like “average reputation” or “you have to stay in middle range”. However, they are judged as less reliable than German vehicles.

According to three interviews, all white-collars with a high level of education who want to buy a car next year, French manufacturer are highly innovative. They have used expressions like “they are modernizing their cars” or “they have made progress on the environmental performance”. This is probably due to the Renault communication campaign about its electric cars and Peugeot and Citroën advertising regarding their hybrid engines.

More particularly, Renault is seen as a very popular brand. It seems logical as among the fourteen cars owned by the interviewees, six are manufactured by Renault. However, this brand suffers from an image problem due to the design of its cars. Indeed, the aesthetic is judged “too classy” while the design is considered as “too angular”.

 

On the contrary, Citroën design is highly appreciated by the interviewees; they have used expressions like “aesthetic model” or “nice look” (particularly for the DS range). From its part, Peugeot is the French brand that the interviewees appreciated the less. They complained about the “lack of visibility” and the “poor design”.