French carmaker Citroen announced its entry into the Indian market with the unveiling of the C5 Aircross on Wednesday at an introductory price of ₹29.90 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi). “Today is a very proud moment for all of us at Citroen. Our years of hard work and planning are finally coming to a fruition. With the launch, Citroen starts a new chapter in India and you can expect a lot of action in the coming months with thefirst vehicle from our new family of B-segment cars,” said CEO Vincent Cobeeduring the virtual launch.
The SUV C5 Aircross is brought to India as completely knock-down kit and assembled near Chennai. It is powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that generates 177 bhp and 400 Nm of torque. The deliveries commenced on Wednesday.
“With over 1,000 pre-bookings till date, the C5 Aircross is clearly one of the most anticipated SUVs in India and this would be followed by launch of one new product for every year for the next five years,” said Roland Bouchara, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing, Citroen India.
According to Mr. Bouchara, the SUV will be sold through La Maison Citroen phygital showrooms in 10 cities. It will offer 100% online buying directly from factory, with doorstep delivery in over 50 cities. It will be available in two variants namely Feel and Shine with four colour options.
Citreon has two plants in India. The Tiruvallur plant has capacity for one lakh units, while the JV plant at Hosur has an annual capacity to produce three lakh gear boxes and two lakh engines respectively. Powertrains are currently being exported to Europe. The company has invested ₹2,000 crore in its production facility.
