With cactus we wanted to say we do something different something new, renew ourselves,’ said Yves Bonnefont, deputy CEO of Citroen. ‘We want no compromise on what is important to the customer but at the same time we want an effective cost of ownership – this car will be 10% lower than the best competition in the segment.’

Launching in the UK this summer, the C4 Cactus is the production realisation developed from initial ideas from the Cactus concept car shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007. It’s designed to be a minimalist entry to the C-segment with low running costs and high usability at its core, and pricing is likely to be somewhere between the C3 and C4 though this is unconfirmed as yet.

The platform is derived from PSA’s B-segment models and sized up to a B-segment car, rather than the new EMP2 platform found in the C4 Picasso. This helps the C4 Cactus shed 100kg of weight even compared to the new Peugeot 308. Pop-out rear windows cut weight, and likely cost, while the protective air-filled Airbumps avoid low-speed dents and scuffs.

Engines will include PureTech three-cylinder petrols while the 1.6-litre diesel will offer range-best fuel economy of 91.1mpg with 82g/km CO2 emissions. The front-end design mimics the split-level headlamps from the new C4 Picasso, a family style expected to roll out across future C Line cars as a way to differentiate from the globally popular DS Line. In the UK, the latter now accounts for 35% of Citroen’s sales.

‘We are very happy with the development of DS – we launched something that was totally new, and after four years we have sold 410,000 cars,’ said Bonnefont. ‘We will continue to develop the DS Line and the core line of Citroën globally. Clearly our strategy is to have the two lines. After we have made this success with DS we wanted to reenergise the core line so that’s what Cactus is about.’

But, Bonnefont added, Cactus will be a standalone model name: ‘I’m often asked what the direct competitors of this car; it’s very difficult because there’s nothing like this on the market,’ he said.

‘In the future we have the DS Line, which is premium, and we have the core line of Citroen which is characterised by what we do with Cactus. I don’t know whether we will call the other cars Cactus, it’s really going to be the whole line which will have those attributes.’

• Citroen will be one of a number of carmakers appearing at this year's Fleet Show at Silverstone on Wednesday 9th April. For more details, visit: http://www.thefleetshow.co.uk/