The latest offering from the Stellantis group firm captures the learnings it has had in a market it considers the toughest in the world, said Thierry Koskas, global brand CEO of Citroen.
“If you succeed in India, it means you can succeed everywhere in the world,” Koskas told ET. “I have been visiting India for 20 years and I am impressed by the rise of customer expectation in terms of features. The expectations of the customer are even higher than what you can see, for example, in Europe,” he said.
His comments come against the backdrop of the tepid response Citroen has got for its existing models — C3, e-C3, and C3 Aircross —because of the models lacking features like push start, sunroof, and automatic transmission. Many of these features are now standard across quite a few trim levels in rival brands.
The Basalt will be produced in India and will also be exported to South American markets. Citroen’s sales in India fell to 8,367 units in FY24 from 9,062 units in the previous year.
Stellantis, which sells models under the Chrysler, Jeep and Citroen brands, saw its sales collapse 56% year over year to 13,773 units in 2023-24, hugely underperforming the broader car market, data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. Passenger vehicle sales in India rose to a record 4.2 million units, up 8.45% during the same period.
“India is extremely important for the Citroen brand,” said Aditya Jairaj, managing director of Stellantis India, adding that Koskas’ visit to the country for a third time in 14 months is a testimony to the commitment.
To step up its overall presence and go closer to the customers, Citroen is planning to increase its dealer network four times — from 50 to 200 by the end of calendar 2024.
Citroen plans to make several changes on its existing products to improve them. “We have understood what the customers are telling us, and we are making the necessary adaptation,” Koskas said. With a four-product portfolio, Citroen is looking to cater to a large section of buyers and is hoping to see a significant step up in its sales, he said, adding that his priority is not to pile up more products but increase sales of existing ones and the upcoming one.
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