India Will Get Its First Citroen EV in 2023: Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares

• After the compact EV, Citroen will also introduce MPV and crossover products in India with pure-electric alternatives.

• The compact EV will likely be a proper rival to the Tata Nexon EV in India.

• Is a part of Stellantis’ ‘Dare Forward 2030’ strategic plan supporting the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Stellantis already has the Jeep and Citroen brands in India. While the latter only has the C5 Aircross SUV at the moment, to be joined by the C3 hatchback this June, there’s more to come from the French automaker. 

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis has revealed in his roadmap for India that there’s a whole host of models in the pipeline, including a compact EV that is slated to show up in 2023. 

“From day one, electrification was part of the Smart Car or C Cubed plans. India will get its first EV in 2023. The vehicle is engineered in India for the Indian market. We are not only going to bring compact cars less than 4 metres, you will have people movers to crossover products in India and (for) all these products, EVs will be an alternative offered,” said Tavares. 

While details on the upcoming Citroen EV are still scarce, what’s evident is that the new compact EV will be locally produced. That said, not all of it will comprise localised parts, as the battery will still be outsourced. But, Stellantis’ CEO did hint that the group is looking at localising that aspect too. Nevertheless, this new compact EV could be just what Citroen needs to take on the Tata Nexon EV which has dominated India’s EV segment. 

All this is a part of the Stellantis group’s long-term roadmap to grow its presence in the Indian market via its ‘Dare Forward 2030’ strategic plan, as well as the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. The group has so far claimed to have invested over €1 billion (over Rs. 8000 crores) on its India operations since 2015.

While Citroen’s plans for India for the near future have been outlined, Jeep’s year is set to kick off with the Meridian three-row SUV. Following that will be the return of the Grand Cherokee SUV, as a locally assembled next-generation model, which is likely to happen around Diwali 2022.  

Source