Citroen has delayed the launch of the C5 Aircross due to coronavirus but its made-in-India products, the first of which is a compact SUV, is well on schedule for launch in 2021 itself.
Group PSA announced yesterday that they have postponed the launch of the Citroen brand in India with the C5 Aircross to early 2021. It was previously scheduled to be launched around September this year. However, the French company has confirmed that its first made-in-India product is well arrive as it was planned. Citroen will be building a compact SUV based on the brand’s C-Cubed programme for India and it will launch in 2021 itself.
The statement reads, “Groupe PSA has decided to maintain the project timeline and investment for the C-Cubed program, under which the first vehicle designed, developed and made in India would be launched in 2021 as announced in 2019 by Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board, Groupe PSA.”
The first product in line after the C5 Aircross will be a compact SUV that is meant to rival the likes of the Vitara Brezza and Hyundai Venue. Then, it will be followed by a premium hatchback that will go against the Tata Altroz and the Hyundai i20. That will then be followed by a sedan, details of which are not known yet. All these cars will be underpinned by the same new Common Modular Platform (CMP) for developing markets.
The C5 Aircross is underpinned by the PSA EMP2 platform but for its mass market offerings, Citroen chose the CMP platform (also known as the PSA EMP1) as it was cost effective and would allow them to have attractive price points for these vehicles. Moreover, Citroen’s sister brand Peugeot already uses this platform for cost effective cars in emerging market like Latin America.
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In fact, Citroen’s compact SUV has already been spotted testing in India once wearing the body shell of a Peugeot 208. However, the production version of the car will borrow funky design cues from the Citroen C3 that’s on sale in several international markets. There are also multiple engine options in consideration for India for this compact SUV – a 1.2-litre, naturally aspirated petrol engine, a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol unit and a 130hp, 1.5-litre diesel motor. Transmission options will include a 6-speed manual with an automatic gearbox option being introduced later.
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Citroen intends to achieve about 90-95% localization with the C21 compact SUV. That will allow them to price the car very aggressively and we are expecting it to be around the Rs 7 lakh mark, ex-showroom. It will compete with the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.
