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French Group PSA To Roll Out Citroen Brand In India
CHENNAI: French automotive group PSA announced that it will re-enter the Indian market with its ‘trendy and comfortable’ brand Citroen.
This is PSA’s third attempt at cracking the Indian market. It first entered India in the mid-90s but was forced to shut shop due to labour unrest. Its second attempt eight years ago had to be shelved due to the economic downturn.
Announcing the group’s financial results on Tuesday, Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board, Groupe PSA, said that it will launch a “family of disruptive products no later than 2021” as part of its global Push to Pass strategy. The Indian debut comes alongside PSA’s aggressive re-entry into other global markets like North America and Russia.
“We have selected Citroen as the brand for India. We already have a powertrain and vehicle plant and a partner (CK Birla Group) and we are building a network to support the launch of this brand here. We will bring a disruptive family of products no later than 2021,” said Tavares.
Although officials remained tight-lipped about their choice of products for India, industry sources say it could be the C5 Aircross SUV.
The India push comes in the wake of PSA’s “frustration” with its performance in China and the winding down of operations in Iran due to US sanctions. Along with India, the French auto major plans to bring back the Opel brand in Russia after a two-year gap and take Peugeot back to North America. PSA had tied up with CK Birla Group three years ago announcing its partnership through two agreements.
Source: The Times of India
