Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen many launches got delayed and it won't come as a surprise if we see more delays. French carmaker and the latest entrant in India, Citroen announced its entry last year and the launch of their first product, C5 Aircross will be delayed due to the lockdown and ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Citroen C5 Aircross, which is a Jeep Compass rivalling SUV was supposed to get launched later this year as a CKD unit but as per the latest hearings, the launch of the Citroen C5 Aircross has been delayed and shifted to the first quarter of 2021.
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Citroen C5 Aircross will be the first offering from the French Carmaker in India and it will help Citroen to build some customer attraction and brand recognition. Unlike the C5 Aircross, other Citroen products will be Made in India. We saw multiple test mules of the Peugeot 208 being tested on the Indian roads. However, the first Made in India product from the house of Citroen will be a compact SUV. New reports suggest that the pandemic will not affect the development and launch of their future mass-market products.
Citroen India is working on a compact SUV ( codenamed C21 ) which will be benefitted with 90-95% localization. Heavy localisation will help Citroen to price it near to its chief rivals. The expected price of this compact SUV is near 7 lakhs. The C21 compact SUV might get 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, 1.2-litre turbo petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine too. The engines will be paired with 6-speed manual gearbox and the automatic variants will follow the range soon.
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Citroen C5 Aircross, being a CKD, will be more expensive than MG Hector and Tata Harrier. C5 Aircross will rub its shoulders with the Jeep Compass which is already suffering to get sales. The distinct design and diesel automatic might help the C5 to get some buyers. But it will be the C21 compact SUV and Baleno-rival hatchback which will be priced attractively and in the interest of potential buyers while the C5 Aircross is just for starters!
