Citroen bets big on India with new car launches

PUNE: French carmaker Citroen is all geared to launch its fourth product in India early next year to boost sales in the fiercely competitive but growing car market dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. It is most likely to be an SUV which is the rage currently.

“We are accelerating our product launches in India and by March 2024, we will introduce a fourth new car in this market,” Saurabh Vatsa, Brand Head, Citroën India told Financial Chronicle without divulging details.

He said India is a very significant market for Citroen which has invested over Rs 2,000 crore in setting up factories in Tiruvallur and Hosur in Tamil Nadu and R&D Centres in Chennai and Pune.

At present, it sells three models: Citroen C5 Aircross SUV, C3 hatchback, and e-C3 electric based on C3, averaging sales of over 1,000 units every month.

“Our third product C3 Aircross SUV will be launched in October and bookings will start a month earlier,” Vatsa said, adding that price will be competitive to garner volumes.

“We are here for a long haul with more investments to consolidate our premium Jeep and Citroen brands in India which are our top priority,” Billy Hayes, senior vice president, of India and Asia Pacific Region, Stellantis told FC. Stellantis, with 14 car brands worldwide, is the world’s third-largest carmaker by sales volumes.

Stellantis is present in India through its two brands Jeep and Citroen in the country with over 3,500 employees, including engineers.

“India is of high strategic importance to Stellantis as we are investing Euro 30 billion globally by 2025 and India is one of the key markets,” Hayes noted.

He said the upcoming all-new C3 Aircross SUV stands out from the crowd with its unique blend of signature Citroen design cues combined with bold, muscular SUV attributes and grow the SUV market in India.

Vatsa said the midsize SUV market in India will jump from 3,66,000 units to 6,12,000 units by the end of this decade.

“In this growing SUV market our new C3 Aircross SUV will be one of the most important vehicles to garner volumes,” he said.

Citroen currently exports its cars to South Africa, ASEAN and Nepal and it plans to extend to Latin America and Europe.