Established in 1919,

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

is a French automobile brand owned by

Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automaker formed in 2021 through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group, PSA (Peugeot S.A.) Group. The company's hea ...

. Citroën was part of the PSA Group before Stellantis N.V. was formed in 2021 on the basis of a merger between Peugeot S.A. (

Groupe PSA Peugeot S.A., trading as Groupe PSA () (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles and motorcycles under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhal ...

) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA). In 2019, the erstwhile PSA group launched the Citroën brand in India along with manufacturing operations through a vehicle assembly plant in Thiruvallur and a powertrain facility in Hosur (both via JVs with

CK Birla Group CKA Birla Group (previously CK Birla Group) is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Birla Tower on Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, India. The group has been historically led by industrialists Braj Mohan Birla and Ganga Prasad B ...

). Consequently, the Stellantis group increased its investment in the JVs with CK Birla and is now a majority shareholder. The Thiruvallur facility produces the C5 Aircross SUV, C3, ë-C3, Aircross & the Basalt for Citroën India. The Hosur plant builds gearboxes primarily for exports and manufactures engines for domestic needs and exports.

History

The launch of the Citroën brand in India was the third attempt by Groupe PSA to enter the Indian market. During the presentation of FY18 results of Groupe PSA, the chairman confirmed that Citroën was the chosen brand to enter the Indian markets. Groupe PSA had signed two joint ventures with companies of India's CK Birla Group for vehicle assembly, distribution and powertrain manufacturing of its cars in the country. The French carmaker was initially supposed to enter the Indian market in 2020. However, the plan was delayed amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the subsequent lockdown. Prior to launching the India-spec C5 Aircross SUV, Citroën India's research revealed that comfort is the critical criteria for new car buyers in India. Production of the C5 Aircross started in January 2021 at the Tiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu. Groupe PSA made an investment of around Rs.2500 crore to enter the Indian market.

Products

Citroën India is developing several models specifically for the Indian market, including EVs. The C5 Aircross was unveiled on 1 February 2021 and launched on 7 April 2021 in two variants: Feel and Shine, with single and dual tone interiors, equipped with a 2.0-litre diesel engine. According to reports, subsequent cars will not support a diesel engine. Citroën India revealed the C3 in September 2021 ahead of its India launch in the first half of 2022. The C3 was the first of three models under Citroën's C-cubed program, and was specifically developed for emerging markets like India and South America. The C3 is locally manufactured in India with more than 90 percent localisation. In February 2023, Citroën India launched an electric variant of C3 under the name Ë-C3. The car was launched about 6 months after the C3's launch. Its stated range is per charge.

Current models

References

{{Automotive industry in India Citroën Automotive companies of India Indian companies established in 2019 2019 establishments in Tamil Nadu Automotive companies established in 2019 Manufacturing companies based in Chennai Indian subsidiaries of foreign companies CK Birla Group