Groupe PSA have officially launched the French car company’s Indian arm, Citroen India, in the country. A new plant has already been set up in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, in November last year.
The French car brand, Citroen, started producing cars in the early 20th century, is a well-established name in Europe and other western markets. This includes their long history in motorsports such as the Citroen C4 driven by legends Sébastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena. They also confirmed that the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV will be the marque’s first launch in the country.
Citroen India want to open their innings in the country with the C5 Aircross because it is their flagship vehicle and it has been launched in worldwide markets in January 2019. Post that launch, they intend to launch one new car every year. the cars will be made locally in Hosur (up to 98 per cent localization) and they aim to produce at least 1 lakh cars per year. However, when launched initially, the C5 Aircross will be imported, most probably as a CBU.
Furthermore, they also announced that they will be manufacturing and launching cars in India before they are launched elsewhere in the world. under the aegis of a programme called C Cubed, which stands for Cool, Comfort, and Clever. We can local production to start from 2021.
Sharing his views on building the brand in India, Roland Bouchara, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing,
Citroen India, said, “Citroen brand in India is here and here to make a difference. India is important to Citroen and this is evident as we plan to bring in a new range products, after the new Citroen C5 Aircross SUV that will be made and launched in India first before being rolled out globally. He also added, “India is a unique market and Indians are adopting new technologies at a very rapid pace. To support our range of unique new products and our in depth study of the Indian market, we have planned for unique customer experience, which will enable us to be the new digital reference for a seamless customer experience in the Indian automotive market. We are planning to introduce a unique digitally disruptive, omnichannel customer journey to deliver ATAWADA AnyTime AnyWhere Any Device Any Content experience to customers. Our Network focus will be to develop lean phygital (physical to 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. He also announced, We are pleased to go live with our India website www.citroen in which marks the beginning of our partnership with potential dealers in India leading to the Citroen Dealer Partner Live Tour in India from 1 of July, 2019.”
The facility in Hosur will manufacture and supply technologically advanced and eco-friendly powertrains that will comply with future norms. The French company, Groupe PSA, who owns car brands other than Citroen such as, Opel, Peugeot, and more, have also acquired another vertical a little closer to our hearts, the Ambassador, from Hindustan Motors.
The Citroen India plant is a new state-of-the-art facility, which has been completed in record time and will manufacture 3,00,000 transmissions in its first phase, and an additional 2,00,000 BS-VI engines by phase two. The plant will make gearboxes for Indian as well as other Groupe PSA markets as per their needs. A large investment has been made to build this facility, a Rs 600 crore investment to be precise. Employment numbers are high too, with the workforce consisting of a sizeable 800 people.
Story: Joshua Varghese
