Citroen C5 Aircross will be sold in India as a CKD – with expected price starting from Rs 30 lakhs
French auto major Groupe PSA will mark its entry in India with the C5 Aircross SUV. New C5 Aircross will be Citroen’s first offering in the Indian market. It was originally planned for launch in September 2020, but launch has been delayed, though not indefinitely. Launch is now postponed to Q1 2021.
Set to be locally assembled via CKD kits, trial assembly has commenced at the CK Birla’s facility in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, from where the company has already commenced production of engines and transmissions. Test mules, brought in as fully imported units, have also been spied testing on Indian roads.
C5 Aircross in India
Citroen C5 Aircross will be the company’s flagship product. It will be sold as a single variant, fully loaded model with price set to commence at around Rs 30 lakhs. Citroen C5 is a full size SUV, measuring 4,500mm in length, 1,859mm in width and 1,670 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,730mm.
It gets high ground clearance of 230mm (unladen), and is based on the PSA Groups EMP2 platform that also underpins the DS7 SUV. Exteriors will sport split LED headlamp setup in the front, short overhangs at the front and rear, and a high bonnet line. It will be seen with a panoramic sunroof and a hands free tailgate. Powering Citroen C5 SUV is a 2.0 litre four cylinder, turbo diesel engine making 180 hp power and paired to an 8 speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
Cirtoen C5 Aircross gets a well anointed interior with dual zone climate control, an 8 inch touchscreen infotainment system and 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster. Safety equipment to include auto high beam feature, cross traffic alert, attention assist, blind spot assist and multiple airbags. ESP, traction control and electronic parking brake along with hill start assist and traffic sign recognition are among its list of interesting new features.
Citroen Showroom
The company was about to open its first showroom in Ahmedabad earlier this year, but that plans also got delayed due to the pandemic and lockdown. Citroen promises that their dealership experience will be different with several innovations to be India firsts. The company plans 10-15 outlets in India which will be based on the ‘La Maison Citroen’ concept.