Citroen’s Sub-4m SUV Spied Testing; Launch Likely In Late-2021
Citroen will make its India debut with the launch of the C5 Aircross in early 2021. It is likely to be followed by the introduction of a new made-in-India and made-for-India SUV, which is expected to go on sale in the latter half of 2021. Recently, a new SUV was spotted testing and it could very well be the second Citroen SUV to go on sale in India.
Although the test mule was heavily camouflaged, it carried some Citroen’s family design cues like split headlamp setup, double chevron Citroen logo and two-part central air dam. The overall profile of the SUV looks boxy much like some of the other Citroen SUVs. Although there is no official confirmation on the same, the Citroen SUV is likely to be based on PSA’s Common Modular Platform (CMP), which is the carmaker's smallest modular platform.
The test mule spied looked like a lower variant as had steel wheels, halogen headlamps and missed out on basic features like rear washer and wiper and rear defogger.
Codenamed the C21, the SUV will be offered with both petrol and diesel engine options. It is expected to get a 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. It will take on the likes of the Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Maruti Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue and the Kia Sonet.
The C21 SUV will also be built at the CK Birla facility in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu along with the C5 Aircross, trial production of which is already underway. As mentioned above, the sub-4m SUV is expected to go on sale by the end of 2021. Citroen has already started setting up dealerships in India and the carmaker plans to introduce ‘La Maison’ dealerships in the country. La Maison dealerships are small dealerships (around 150 sq m) which can accommodate up to 2 cars along with a small cafe, a tech wall and a small discussion area.
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