HomeCar NewsCitroen CC21 Small UV Spied Testing Alongside Tata Altroz, Maruti Baleno

Citroen CC21 Small UV Spied Testing Alongside Tata Altroz, Maruti Baleno

Citroen CC21 Spied
Citroen CC21 Spied with Tata Altroz, Maruti Baleno

The Citroen CC21 will be based on a heavily localized modular platform which will also cater to a mass market EV in the near future

Citroen is at the verge of commencing its Indian operations with the launch of flagship C5 Aircross SUV. The top-down approach will see the French automaker, now a part of newly formed Stellantis group, gradually expand its presence across the country and enter the mass market segment with products specifically developed for our market.

Citroen CC21 spied testing with its benchmarks

The Citroen CC21 (codename) micro crossover which is currently in the advanced stages of development is a very important product for the brand in India. To be pitted against the likes of Maruti Ignis, Mahindra KUV100 and the upcoming Tata HBX (codename), the CC21 appears to be also aiming for the premium hatchbacks.

A Camouflaged Citroen CC21 prototype has been spotted testing alongside a Tata Altroz and Maruti Baleno in Tamil Nadu. Spyshots are credit to automotive enthusiast Sivasankar, Shahid / PowerStrokePS and Chaitanya Pise for sharing their spy shots via Rushlane Spylane facebook group.

While the upcoming Citroen rides taller and has an SUV-ish design, the overall dimensions, footprint and hardware configurations are comparable to those of the premium hatchbacks. We also expect the equipment level to be on par and hence the new car is benchmarked against the Altroz and Baleno.

Citroen CC21 Spied
Citroen CC21 Spied with Tata Altroz, Maruti Baleno with Red No plate at another location in Chennai

What we know so far?

The Citroen CC21 is a derivative of the automaker’s Common Modular Platform which also underpins a range of compact Peugeot and Citroen products. The heavily localized platform is expected employ a 1.2-liter turbocharged petrol engine with output figures in the ballpark of 100 hp and 150 Nm of torque.

This will be India’s first flex-fuel engine. It can run on petrol as well as ethanol blends. Both manual and automatic (or AMT) transmission options are likely to be on offer.

The styling will adopt Citroen’s trademark characteristics including a two-part lighting signature, sleek grille and a simple profile. The interior, as shown in the recent spyshots, will adopt a stand-alone touchscreen infotainment system on the center console. A lot of dashboard bits are expected to be carried forward from Citroen’s existing compact models.

Citroen CC21 Spied
Citroen CC21 Spied

Launch timeline

The Citroen CC21 is slated to be launched sometime in the middle of this year. It is unclear if the pandemic crisis will cause a slight delay in the timeline but given the test mules look almost production ready, we should see the vehicle in the showrooms sometime later this year.

Pricing is expected to be competitive and in the premium hatchback territory. We expect a sub-5 lakh starting price of the French micro-crossover. The same car has also been spied on test in Brazil.

Citroen CC21 Spied
Citroen CC21 Spied

Electric variant on the horizon

With zero emission vehicles showing immense potential in long term, the Citroen CC21 is expected to spawn a variant with electric motor sometime in 2022. Not much is know about Citroen’s electric car for India but the company has hinted at a price tag of under INR 8 lakh. The Tata HBX would also have an electric derivative.

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