Highlights:
If you’re a motoring enthusiast, chances are you’ve heard of Citroën before. You’ve probably even seen the French brand of cars and vans in films and on your trips outside the country. Well, you’ll be happy to know that parent company Groupe PSA has just announced the launch of the Citroën brand in India for the first time. Partnering with CK Birla Group, the French marque will manufacture its cars and powertrains in Tamil Nadu and showcase the C5 Aircross SUV sometime before the end of 2021.
“To support our range of unique new products and our in-depth study of the Indian market, we have planned for a unique customer experience, which will enable us to be the new digital reference for a seamless customer experience in the Indian automotive market,” said Roland Bouchara, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing of Citroën India. “We are planning to introduce a unique digitally disruptive, omni-channel customer journey to deliver ATAWADAC (AnyTime AnyWhere AnyDevice AnyContent) experience to customers. Our Network focus will be to develop lean & phygital (physical + digital) formats with a ‘brick to click’ orientation. This seamless experience will be brought alive by personalized digital sales and service processes for our customers.”
Part of Groupe PSA since 1976, Citroën was founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën. It developed the world’s first hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system in 1954. A year later, it launched the DS, the first mass-produced car with modern disc brakes. Its current lineup in Europe includes models like the Citroën C-Zero, C1, C3, C3 Aircross, C4 Cactus, and the India-bound C5 Aircross SUV.
The Citroën C5 Aircross SUV is expected to come to India with both petrol and diesel engine options. In Europe the compact SUV is sold with four engine options: a three-cylinder 1.2-litre PureTech 130 turbocharged petrol motor followed by a four-cylinder 1.6-litre variant of the same, a four-cylinder 1.5-litre BlueHDi diesel motor with a 2.0-litre turbocharged variant. The gearbox is either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic. When launched in India, the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV is expected to compete with models like the Honda CR-V and Jeep Compass.
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