French carmaker Citroen, which has had restricted success with the fashions launched in India to this point, is hoping to show round its fortunes within the nation with the Basalt — a mid-size coupe SUV that might go on sale within the second half of this yr.
The most recent providing from the Stellantis group agency captures the learnings it has had in a promote it considers the hardest on the planet, mentioned Thierry Koskas, world model CEO of Citroen.
“Should you achieve India, it means you possibly can succeed in every single place on the planet,” Koskas instructed ET. “I’ve been visiting India for 20 years and I’m impressed by the rise of buyer expectation by way of options. The expectations of the client are even larger than what you possibly can see, for instance, in Europe,” he mentioned.
His feedback come towards the backdrop of the tepid response Citroen has bought for its current fashions — C3, e-C3, and C3 Aircross —due to the fashions missing options like push begin, sunroof, and computerized transmission. Many of those options are actually normal throughout fairly just a few trim ranges in rival manufacturers.
The Basalt will likely be produced in India and also will be exported to South American markets. Citroen’s gross sales in India fell to eight,367 models in FY24 from 9,062 models within the earlier yr.
Stellantis, which sells fashions below the Chrysler, Jeep and Citroen manufacturers, noticed its gross sales collapse 56% yr over yr to 13,773 models in 2023-24, vastly underperforming the broader automobile market, knowledge compiled by the Society of Indian Car Producers (SIAM) confirmed. Passenger car gross sales in India rose to a file 4.2 million models, up 8.45% throughout the identical interval.
“India is extraordinarily vital for the Citroen model,” mentioned Aditya Jairaj, managing director of Stellantis India, including that Koskas’ go to to the nation for a 3rd time in 14 months is a sworn statement to the dedication.
To step up its total presence and go nearer to the purchasers, Citroen is planning to extend its seller community 4 instances — from 50 to 200 by the tip of calendar 2024.
Citroen plans to make a number of modifications on its current merchandise to enhance them. “We now have understood what the purchasers are telling us, and we’re making the required adaptation,” Koskas mentioned. With a four-product portfolio, Citroen is trying to cater to a big part of consumers and is hoping to see a major step up in its gross sales, he mentioned, including that his precedence is to not pile up extra merchandise however improve gross sales of current ones and the upcoming one.
