Fashion
Citroen is all set to begin sales operations in India next month which is when it will take the wrap off its first model- the Citroen C5 Aircross and it’s just the beginning of the Journey for the French carmaker in India. Citroen has inaugurated it ‘La Maison’ showroom in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and is promising that it will keep introducing at least one new model every year, in a bid to gradually build up its product line-up in our market.
Now a couple of models other than the Citroen C5 Aircross which will be a Jeep Compass and Tata Harrier rival, have been spotted doing rounds in India last year. The next model which most likely will hit our market by the end of 2021 or early next year will be the C3 Aircross which is a smaller subcompact SUV, taking on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Hyundai Venue among others. Then, the Citroen Berlingo MPV was also spotted testing in India last month, and if on its arrival, it will enter a segment where Renault had launched the Lodgy five years ago. However, we don’t have any final word from the company on its launch yet.
Roland Bouchara, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Citroen India, “We have a clear intention which not many manufacturers had when they entered the country. We have created an ecosystem in India. We have engineering, R&D facilities already here and we are already manufacturing the diesel engine at the Hosur plant. We are looking at localization levels of 90 percent -100 percent in our cars for India.”
The company has also confirmed that all upcoming models will be underpinned by the C-Cubed platform and will have both petrol and diesel engine options. The Citroen C5 Aircross will also be powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine that puts out 177 bhp and 400 Nm of peak torque and will be mated to an eight-speed torque-converter automatic unit. The petrol version will be added later to the line-up. Citroen will open 10 dealerships in different cities before the launch of the C5 Aircross.
