Citroen India debut



Citroën India is a subsidiary of Stellantis of France, as a joint-venture with CK Birla Group, for the manufacture and sales of Citroën in India. Citroën entered the Indian market in 2021. Citroën vehicles will be manufactured at CK Birla Group's production facilities in Tamil Nadu.
Citroen's first product is the all new Citroen C5 Aircross which will be launched by the end of the month at a price tag of approx 30 lakhs.
Citroen India conducted a survey where Indians where asked about their views on the term comfort  and the results were as follows:
  •  81% of Indians consider ‘comfort’ a priority when buying a car
  •  79% of Indians prefer personal vehicle as a mode of transport post-covid-19 lockdown, compared to 61% pre-covid-19 lockdown
  •  66% of Indians consider home-cooked meals as their favourite comfort food, post-covid lockdown, as compared to 35% Indians during the pre-covid-19 lockdown
  •  58% of respondents are comfortable working from home, while 22% describe it as ‘very uncomfortable’.
  •  55% of Indians consider incessant exposure to honking, noise and pollution while driving a cause of their discomfort.
  • 49% of Indians find backache, neck ache and other physical strains the reason, and the same proportion hold traffic and congestion responsible for the lack of comfort.

C5 Aircross





This maiden SUV from Citroen will be sold via the company’s La Maison dealerships across 10 locations in India. It will be available in two variants named as Feel and Shine.
It is powered by a 2 litre diesel engine which gives 177hp and 400Nm of torque, which will be paired to an 8-speed automatic gearbox which gives out a mileage of 18.6kmpl.

The list of features in the Feel variant are as follows:

  • Auto headlamps and wipers
  • Front and rear fog lamps
  • 18-inch alloy wheels
  • 8.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay


  • 12.3-inch digital instrument screen
  • Hands-free parking
  • Powered driver’s seat
  • Keyless entry and go
  • Dual-zone climate control
  • Cruise control
  • Electronic parking brake
  • Power folding and heated wing mirrors
  • Auto dimming inside rear view mirror
  • Puddle lamps
  • Tyre pressure monitor
  • Drive modes and traction modes
  • 6 airbags
  • ESP
  • Traction control
  • Hill-descent control and hill-start assist
  • Rear view camera
  • Front and rear parking sensors
  • Halogen headlamps with LED DRLs

    While the added features in Shine variant are:
  • Panoramic sunroof
  • LED headlamps
  • Hands-free tailgate opening

Conclusion


Pretty sure that Citroen will give a tough competition to cars like Hyundai Tucson and others mainly in comfort for which they are famous for, but as a debutant in  a country like India where most of the  people have a budget that can go as high as 10-15 lakhs, is it a great idea to launch their first vehicle at a price tag of the range 25-30 lakhs??

By Nirmal Nandakumar