Citroen begins rolling out Basalt from Tamil Nadu plant ahead of launch

Citroen India’s next SUV, the Basalt, has entered series production ahead of its market launch in the coming months, confirms Autocar India. The Citroen Basalt is being built alongside the C3 Aircross SUV at the Thiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu, which is also home to the C3 high-riding hatchback and its EV counterpart, the eC3.

Citroen Basalt to rival Tata Curvv
The Citroen Basalt SUV was shown in near-production ready form a few months ago. The SUV-coupe will be around 4.3 metres long and will be aimed at the upcoming Tata Curvv that will also have a similar body style. Additionally, the upcoming Basalt is expected to serve as a slightly different looking alternative to popular midsize SUVs like the Creta, Seltos, Grand Vitara, Hyryder, Taigun, and Kushaq, and even Citroen’s own C3 Aircross SUV. 

The Basalt will be powered by the same 110hp, 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine as the C3 Aircross, with manual and automatic gearbox options on offer. Apart from the sloping roofline, the Basalt is also expected to pack some additional features as compared to the C3 hatch and C3 Aircross SUV, which have been criticised for not being as well-equipped as their respective rivals.

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