Groupe PSA has started its Indian operations amid the pandemic. The brand which has been studying the market in a structured fashion has finally started production from its Thiruvallur plant. This plant was earlier owned by Hindustan Motors and was sold to Groupe PSA a couple of years ago. An investment of more than Rs 2,400 crore is being planned for our market. The first car that has rolled out from Groupe PSA’s efforts is the new Citroen C5 Aircross SUV. The Citroen C5 Aircross SUV trial production roll-out has started. Senior vice-president of PCA Motors India, Eric Apode tweeted an image from the factory. A pooja ceremony was conducted and Eric congratulated the entire Indian team for this achievement. These Aircross units might be used for testing purposes wherein the fuel efficiency, ride quality, and other parameters will be checked on Indian roads.
Market launch of the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV happens in the first quarter of 2021. The SUV will be up against the Skoda Karoq, Hyundai Tucson and the Jeep Compass. It seems that Citroen might not sell in big numbers but as a launch product, the C5 Aircross feels the right one. While Citroen hasn’t revealed the exact engine specs of the SUV, we believe there will be petrol and diesel versions on offer. Automatic as well as manual transmissions will be offered with this SUV.
There will be features galore with the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV and likely AWD will also be offered. While the latter is not required in this segment, it is always good to give the customers an option. The aforementioned competition, apart from the Karoq has this feature. We expect the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV to be priced at around Rs 22 lakh – 27 lakh, ex-showroom. There could be only two variants of each engine-spec.
