Citroen India, which is set to have the global reveal of its Basalt crossover-coupe in August 2024, is seeing export demand growing for its made-in-India products, particularly the C3 Aircross SUV. In fact, its cumulative exports of 1,388 units in the first three months of FY2025 are ahead of its domestic India market sales of 1,258 units by 130 units .
The company’s Q1 FY2025 export numbers are a strong 97% year-on-year increase (April-June 2023: 703 units), albeit on a low year-ago base. This total comprises 1,019 C3 Aircross SUVs, 330 units of the C3 and eC3 hatchbacks, and 39 units of the yet-to-be-introduced Basalt.
Since its market entry into India in FY2022, Citroen has dispatched a total of 4,870 made-in-India passenger vehicles comprising 204 units in FY2023, 3,278 units in FY2024 and 1,388 units in Q1 FY2025. The April-June 2024 export performance is already 42% of Citroen India’s FY2024 exports (3,278 units) and the C3 Aircross, with 1,019 units, accounts for 73% of the overseas shipments. At present, Citroen India is ranked 10th among the 16 car and SUV exporting OEMs in the country.
The C3 Aircross’ sales are far better in overseas market than in India. In the domestic market, the C3 Aircross has sold a total of 2,138 units since its launch in September 2023. This total comprises 1,784 units in FY2024 and 354 units in April-June 2024.
In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the C3 Aircross is the third best-selling product for Citroen India in the domestic market after the C3 petrol (483 units) and the eC3 (420 units) hatchbacks. The C5 Aircross, the company's first product launched in India in FY2022, has sold just one unit in the past three months.
C3 Aircross battles in highly competitive midsize market
The C3 Aircross is the fourth Citroen product introduced in India. Aimed to tap the growing demand for midsize SUVs, it was launched with 90% localisation at Rs 999,000 and in a highly competitive segment bristling with established rivals including the Hyundai Creta, Maruti Grand Vitara, Kia Seltos, Honda Elevate, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun and, more recently, the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder.
The C3 Aircross, which is powered by a punchy 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine, gets an innovative unique 5+2 seating configuration which makes it stand out amongst midsize SUVs. The SUV offers a 511-litre boot space with the third row folded flat.
Despite the C3 Aircross being fundamentally strong in terms of its suspension setup, and drivetrain, lack of convenience features such as automatic climate control, passive-entry and passive-start, an auto-dimming IRVM, among others, amidst a field of tech-laden and feature-rich competitors which also boast sunroof and Level-1 ADAS, the C3 Aircross seems to provide less value. What further dampens the consumer sentiment is a thin dealership network and service support.
(With inputs from Mayank Dhingra)
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