Citroen electric car launch in India set for 2023

Citroen India currently sells the C5 Aircross, a premium compact SUV, in the country. The vehicle is powered by a sole 2.0ltr diesel powerplant derived from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). The vehicle has not sold itself in large volumes and remains in a niche segment.

Citroen EV launch in India in 2023

Citroen India has set its eye on the mass market segment in India and is specifically aiming at electric cars for the Indian market. The company also aims at introducing a low-cost compact electric car first followed by other products oriented towards to people mover market. The French company that is part of the Stellantis conglomerate aims to bring out its first electric car for India by 2023.

Carlos Tavares, CEO of the Stellantis group, told the Indian media that the company is developing India specific vehicles under the smart car programme. The smart car programme or the C-cubed programme is a project that will develop a host of different cars that will cater to compact and affordable car buyers. The vehicles will be based on Citroens CMP platform and will also have India as the base for other global markets.

While details of the upcoming electric car are unknown, Tavares mentioned that the car would be under 4 meters in length, and will be based on the C3 hatchback’s platform. This vehicle will be trailed by a variety of vehicles obeying different body styles and will include MPVs, CUVs, etc to target the people-mover segment. The Citroen C3 hatchback has been delayed in India by half a year owing to the global crisis however, the electric vehicle is currently on track. The EV versions of the C3 hatchback as well as other cars under the smart car programme have been pre-planned and under development for the past four to five years.

Affordable EVs for India

CEO Tavares mentioned that a great level of engineering and development has gone into cars which are more localised and hence affordable. However, batteries, the most important and expensive component part of an EV is not yet feasible to be sourced from India and Citroen will be importing these initially. However, the company expects to soon source it in India. 

“The task for EVs in India is twofold: to have clean energy to power them and to make them affordable, and that second part is in our hands,” said CEO CARLOS TRAVARES  

The EV from Citroen will achieve 90 percent localisation which could aid the cost-effective factor. The French company targets to hit the market very soon to gain an advantage over the indigenous market’s strong players. Maruti plans to bring out its first EV in 2025 while a mass-market EV from Hyundai is still a couple of years away. Tavares predicts that by 2025, EVs will have 5 to 10 percent market penetration and later grow up to 25 percent in 2030.