Five years since entering the Indian market, carmaker Stellantis is gearing up to add more products, expand its reach, and step up production. Shailesh Hazela, MD and CEO, Stellantis India, spoke to Swaraj Baggonkar on the sidelines of the launch of the Basalt X, priced at Rs 7.95 lakh, about the company’s plans. Excerpts:
Despite having two globally popular brands — Citroen and Jeep — Stellantis has been very slow in the Indian market. Why is that so?
India is a tough market to enter. Every company in the past went through the cycle. We are learning too. We have been here for the past five years. We have seen the customer preferences changing very quickly.
Can you elaborate on that?
From basic mobility, consumer choice has moved to a different level where they see the car as an expansion of their living room — products that are aspirational, that become pride of possession. We did market research to understand the customer. Our strength is in design, engineering, supply chain, supply base and manufacturing plant. We have invested in each of them.
What is Stellantis’ retail reach?
We started with our network of 10 outlets in 2021 and gradually moved to 58 by the middle of last year and to 80 by the end of last year. In the last two months alone, we added 30 outlets. We have gone for smaller format showrooms, adopting hub-and-spoke model. Our point of sale count has risen to 110 and, in the next 6-7 months, our plan is to hit 150.
Is it a dual dealership of both Citroen and Jeep?
Since we have dealerships of both the brands, and customers are looking for both, then why not make it a Stellantis Brand House. As of today, more than 50% of our dealership is selling both the brands. The workshops are also capable of handling both the brands.
Stellantis spoke about bringing Leapmotor to India. What is the progress on that?
We are looking for the right product from Leapmotor. It is a very young brand but very agile and we are looking to get the right product which appeals to the Indian market.
Are there plans to expand the EV range of Stellantis?
Stellantis has got platforms which are multi-energy. It is a matter of demand and bringing it in a way that is affordable for us to sustain longer. But things are at an approval level.
Has the eC3 performed as per your expectations?
It has dented in the right way where people are using it for business and personal use. In our view, it is a pyramid which is being built the right way. The eC3 has been able to consistently clock the range which was claimed by us and that’s our strength.
Any plans for getting the Jeep EV?
It is the free trade agreement (with the UK) which has come as a sudden help. The FTA opens the doors and creates longevity and gives you comfort with regards to the number of years that are there. Stellantis has a production presence in the UK as well.
What is the plant capacity of Stellantis?
We have a plant capacity of 60,000 across three shifts per year. Today we are doing 25,000-30,000 per annum and we want to improve that with the C3X and Basalt X and one more X (model). We do a lot of exports to Asean and Africa countries.