PSA Group, the France based Automotive giant has officially announced its plans of entering India with the Citroen brand by 2021. PSA Group is the owner of renowned car brands like Opel, Vauxhall, Citroen, DS and Peugeot. Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board, Groupe PSA, said that the move to enter India is in line with the second phase of its ‘Push to Pass’ strategic plan for the period 2019-2021.
The Group is marking its return to India through a joint venture with the CK Birla Group. Under this JV, PSA has established a facility in Tamil Nadu to manufacture and supply powertrains and transmission units for global and domestic automotive markets.
“We are very proud to launch Citroen in India, one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Building on the brand's success in Europe with five consecutive years of growth, I am convinced that Citroen’s selling proposition of unique styling, eco-friendly and comfortable cars at the heart of the market has all the potential to satisfy Indian customers," said Linda Jackson, CEO of Citroen.
While the brand hasn’t revealed any information as to which car will be the first to launch here, it could very well be the C5 Aircross SUV. Recently spied testing in the country, the C5 Aircross is based on the carmaker’s EMP platform. It is a premium mid-size SUV that rivals the Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass and the VW Tiguan in international markets. It will most likely get both petrol and diesel powertrains. Globally, the SUV is available with 1.2-litre and 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engines along with 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbo diesel engines. These come mated to either a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed automatic gearbox.
The PSA Group had first come to India in 1994 as a partner with the iconic Premier Automobiles. The partnership sold Peugeot cars in India for about three years before the Joint Venture ended in 1997. This time around the PSA Group has entered into two JVs with the CK Birla Group under which it has set up an engine plant and a separate car manufacturing facility at Hosur in Tamil Nadu.