CITROËN BEGINS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION IN

INDIA
Start up

French carmaker Citroen in India has begun commercial production and rolled out the first
Citroën C5 Aircross SUV, from its manufacturing facility in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. A
couple of year ago, Groupe PSA had signed two joint ventures with companies of India’s CK
Birla Group for vehicle assembly, distribution and powertrain manufacturing of its cars in
India.

The flagship SUV is the first product from the Citroën brand for the Indian market and is
slated to be launched in this quarter, sometime in March 2021. The company says the start of
production of the new Citroën C5 Aircross SUV in India has started after rigorous testing of
the vehicle for over 250,000 kilometres in different terrains and varied weather conditions
across India

Market insights

Local reports say that India will have only 10-15 Citroen dealerships initially. In addition,
these will be located mostly or only in metro cities. Closer to the launch of the first model
from the C Cubed project, there will likely be a ramp-up to spread in more locations. India
has started adopting EV technology. Yet, the Groupe PSA has no plan to launch a Citroen EV
in India in the near future. “At the appropriate time, we will talk about our future product and
propulsion portfolio according to local market needs, requirements, and readiness for news.
Technologies, especially charging infrastructure,” Roland Bouchara, Sales and Marketing
Director, Citroen (India), told the French publication.

Retail Strategy

Earlier this month, Citroen India top management shared details of its India retail plans. The
brand will be targetting key Indian cities in the first leg with its globally renowned ‘La
Maison Citroen’ showroom concept. It plans a roadmap to establish 10 La Maison outlets in
the country, in order to establish the brand in India as it sets off with the premium C5
Aircross crossover, which is expected to retail at price points upwards of Rs 30 lakh
Come back strategies (advertisement)

CNBC-TV18’s Alisha Sachdev caught up with the carmaker's Senior Vice President of
Sales, Roland Bouchara and asked him what their strategy will be for Indian market.
“We decided to launch Citroen in India because it was a part of the ex-PSA’s, which is
now Stellantis, international strategy,” he said.
“After the C5 SUV, we will keep our promise and launch one product every year,” he
added.
“C5 SUV is going to be in the premium segment. There are going to be some other
segments which are going to grow. I am not going to unveil what will be the lineup of
our programme but for sure we have anticipated this kind of segment evolution,” he
said.
“Market share is dependent upon the segment evolution. Market is going to be
uncertain. The intention is to become a key player in every mainstream segment where
we are going to develop the product line-up,” he mentioned

Market penetration

Citroen plans to go ahead with ten dealerships across India to cover most of the domestic
automobile market. It will also operate a mobile dealership on wheels that would meet the
new and emerging markets’ demand and take the exclusive retail experience across the
country. It has plans to start a digital sales strategy to support its current and future
dealerships.

“We plan to initiate a ‘Phygital’ network for sales in India. As an OEM, we want to have full-
scale operations. Dealerships based on our flagship urban retail concept, ‘La Maison Citroën’
will be the standard in India. They will give the same ‘European’ experience in buying cars
and after-sales service,” Vatsa said

Future impact

The three Citroen vehicles that have received the green signal for India under the C-Cubed
program are a sub-4 metre SUV like the Hyundai Venue, a small hatchback like the Hyundai
i20, and a small sedan like the Hyundai Verna. They are being designed and developed in
India. The first of the lot will arrive in 2021 itself, presumably in the second half of the year.
We’re positive that it will be the sub-4 metre SUV.

The other two models will follow year after year in 2022 and 2023. Citroen cars in India will
be built at a plant in Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. It was previously wholly owned by Hindustan
Motors. However, Group PSA now has an undisclosed majority stake in its ownership. The
engines and transmissions of these vehicles will be sourced from a new 50:50 JV plant owned
by Groupe PSA and AVTEC in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Both Hindustan Motors and AVTEC are
CK Birla Group companies.