Citroën is bidding to return to the executive car sector in Britain with the new C6 – a position it has failed to occupy since the generations of DS, CX and SM came to an end.

The company has invested in a new factory within a factory at Rennes in Brittany. The site has been benchmarked alongside the world’s best to ensure it produces cars to compete with the German premium brands.

Citroën faces a tough challenge in the UK, where it has positioned itself as a value brand over the past six years. Consequently, sales targets for the stylish and slightly eccentric Citroën C6 are just 1,000 units, with most likely to go to user choosers. However, the carmaker says the C6 will not be spearheading a move upmarket for other models in the range.

“This is not about taking either brand (Peugeot or Citroën) upmarket as such,” says a PSA spokeswoman. “As a group it’s about showing that both brands have the capacity and quality in place to produce quality vehicles in every market segment.”

The C6 has undergone 10 hours of quality checks and a 0.1mm panel fit tolerance, which will also be applied to other cars on the same PSA Peugeot Citroën platform, including 407 coupé. C5 is also assembled at Rennes.