Citroen India announced their entry in the Indian market last year but surprisingly, we didn't see the brand at the 2020 Auto Expo. Citroen will mark its entry in India with the C5 Aircross which will go on sale early next year. The C5 Aircross will be followed by the India-spec Citroen sub-compact SUV (codenamed C21) and a Baleno-rival premium hatchback.
Citroen's C21 compact SUV will be based on the brand's Common Modular Platform (CMP) which has been developed for emerging markets. The C21 SUV will be made for India and exported to other growing markets like South America. Initially, the C21 compact SUV is said to powered by a sole 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine. While the specs are not confirmed, the engine has been benchmarked with Maruti Suzuki's 1.2-litre petrol engine in terms of refinement, power and fuel efficiency.
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Citroen has started the official testing of the C21 sub-compact SUV and the launch is slated for late 2021. We have seen the typical nature of new brands attacking the ever-popular SUV segment over other segments of cars. With the C21 sub-compact SUV, Citroen will take on the likes of the Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet and others. However, only having a turbo petrol engine under the hood would be not in favour of volumes and we may get a diesel engine from the brand in future too.
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The Citroen C5 Aircross has been on test for long and the company had begun the trial production of the premium SUV at the CK Birla factory in Tamil Nadu. Citroen will sell the C5 Aircross via the CKD route and it will be priced in the region of 30 lakh ex-showroom. The C21 sub-compact SUV from the house of Citroen will come with typical Citroen styling which includes split headlights and chunky cladding on the sides.
