It is no secret that Citroen will start rolling out locally developed products in the Indian market in the second half of 2021. The company will start its India-innings with the C5 Aircross premium SUV in the first quarter of 2021. If reports are to be believed, the mass market Citroen products will be offered in petrol version only.
Diesel engine options will be offered on the higher-end products including the Citroen C5 Aircross, which will receive a fully-imported 2.0L turbocharged diesel engine. It will be positioned against the Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace, Honda CR-V and the Skoda Kodiaq. Interestingly, Groupe PSA is manufacturing a 1.5-litre diesel engine at the PSA-CK Birla joint production unit in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
The upcoming Citroen C21 compact SUV will be powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which is expected to produce around 130bhp of power. This engine will be paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox. An automatic gearbox option is expected to be introduced at a later stage.
Scheduled to be launched in the end of 2021, the compact SUV will be positioned against the Tata Nexon, Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue and the Mahindra XUV300. The company aims to achieve close to 95 per cent of localisations to price the new model competitively. It is likely to be priced around Rs 7 lakh to Rs 11 lakh.
Citroen C21 sub-4 meter SUV will be based on the Groupe PSA CMP (EMP1) platform. This common modular platform currently underpins several global products from Groupe PSA including the Peugeot 208. This platform is compatible with different body styles and types of engines.
The company is also planning to enter into the premium hatchback and the sedan segment. Adding to it, the company is reportedly readying an all-new mid-sized SUV to challenge the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and the Nissan Kicks. The mid-sized SUV is likely to arrive in 2022-23.
