French car manufacturer Citroën was expected to launch their first car in India called the C5 Aircross by the end of 2020. But Groupe PSA the parent company has announced that the brand will be postponing the launch date to the first quarter of 2021 in view of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
The brand has set up dealerships in India under the brands ‘La Maison Citroën’ concept. ‘La Maison’ literally translates to ‘The House’ in French and the concept was launched in 2017 and already has 17 showrooms set up worldwide. Citroën plans to open 10 to 15 showrooms, under the ‘La Maison’ concept which requires a space of only 150 square meters.
The limited size is a result of Citroën’s data which shows that a customer does most of its research at home before going out for a visit to purchase a car. ‘La Maison’ showrooms will be equipped with a virtual interactive system with a maximum of two cars on display and a small café with a discussion area. La Maison concept will help the dealers save on the initial investment especially in metropolitan cities where the real estate prices are high. But, Citroën is likely to open large conventional showrooms as well.
The Citroën C5 Aircross which was showcased last year in India and introduced at the Paris Auto Show in 2018 features a chrome-accented double chevron grille, LED daytime running lights, sleek dual projector headlamp units, wide air dam, Airbump on the front bumper & sides, large alloy wheels, C-shaped chrome embellishment on the C-pillar, roof rails and four LED squircle modules on the tail lamp.
The Citroën C5 Aircross is expected to be available in only one powertrain option in India – a 1.5-litre turbo diesel engine that produces 130 hp of power coupled to an 8-speed automatic gearbox.
The Citroën C5 Aircross is expected to be priced around the INR 30 lakh mark when launched in India. The SUV is expected to come to the Indian shores via the CKD route with the brand planning to locally manufacture future compact SUV in India which are expected to be sold at a relatively affordable price.
Source: Citroën India