Contract hire and leasing is up 21% for cars and vans.

“We’re looking to ensure we have a good, close working relationship with the leasing companies not only on new sales but also on the aftersales front,” says Hamill.

Citroën now has the best response time for the 1link service repair network (which is widely used by contract hire companies), with an average response time of 14 minutes.

“It’s important you respond in a timely manner because if you don’t 1link sends the enquiry out of the network to a third party,” Hamill says.

“We lose control of the customer and, generally, we don’t benefit from parts or labour sales.”

Another aftersales initiative is Citroën Service Racing, which is inspired by the Citroën rally team and sees more than one technician working on an individual car to service it in less than an hour.

Eight dealerships took part in a six-month pilot last year and the initiative is now being rolled out to a projected 40 dealerships by the end of this year.

Citroën is also continuing its 24-hour test drive programme with plans to survey user-choosers about their experience two days afterwards rather than four to six weeks later.

“If something wasn’t quite right we can act upon it and we don’t miss an opportunity,” says Hamill.

National fleets show interest in trialling electric Berlingo

Citroën is looking to consolidate its van fleet market share at around 8.5-9% over the next five years.

The Berlingo, which won the Fleet Van small van of the year award for the third time last year, will face stiff competition from Ford’s new small Transit Connect van.

“That’s a challenge we will have to rise to,” Hamill says. “We’ve enhanced the specifications available with Berlingo, as well as improving fuel economy and lowering CO2.”

Citroën has a number of national fleets interested in trialling the electric Berlingo over the coming months, although Hamill admits “it’s a niche market”.

“There may be more demand in certain parts of the country for an electric van than there is for an electric car,” he says. “It depends on the specific needs of the operator.”

Citroën has seen a number of service delivery and construction fleets move company car drivers into crew vans which are able to carry more passengers.

It has enjoyed success in the courier market with the Relay, and a revised Relay is expected to make an appearance later this year.