Coronavirus Effect: Citroen’s India Entry Delayed. Hyundai Tucson Rival To Now Launch In Q1 2021

The C5 Aircross was expected to make its India debut in September 2020, thus marking the entry of the French brand in India 

• The Citroen C5 Aircross will now go on sale in Q1 2021.
• It is likely to be priced from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
• Could be offered with both petrol diesel engines.
• It will rival the likes of Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V and Jeep Compass (higher variants).
• Citroen’s first dealership is currently under construction in Ahmedabad.

Looking at the coronavirus situation in the country and around the world, the French carmaker Citroen has decided to push its India entry to Q1 2021. The carmaker was earlier expected to launch its first product in the country by September 2020. 

Earlier, Citroen had confirmed that the C5 Aircross would be its first product for India. It will be locally assembled at a facility in Tamil Nadu in collaboration with the CK Birla Group. The C5 Aircross is a mid-size SUV that will take on the likes of the Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass (higher variants) and the Honda CR-V when it goes on sale in India. It is likely to be priced from Rs 20 lakh. 

Citroen has not yet revealed any details about India-spec C5 Aircross. However, we expect it to be offered with both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol engine is expected to be a 1.6-litre turbo unit producing 180PS and 250Nm. The diesel engine is likely to be a 2.0-litre unit making 176PS/400Nm. While Citroen globally offers both these engines with an 8-speed automatic gearbox, we expect Citroen to also offer a manual gearbox with the India-spec car. 

Features that are expected to make way to the C5 Aircross include multiple airbags, ESP, traction control, hill start assist, electronic parking brake, a panoramic sunroof, dual zone climate control, powered driver seat, front and rear parking sensors, hands-free parking, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

While the launch is still months away, Citroen’s first dealership is currently under construction in Ahmedabad. Expect more dealerships to come up in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Noida, among others. 

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