L-R: (sitting) Jean Louis Grumet,  VP, China/Asean and India/Pacific area, Banque PSA Finance; Joel Verany, VP Sales & Network Development, Citroen India, and Pralay Mondal, ED, Axis Bank. L-R: (standing) Shishir Mishra, director and head, Partnerships (India), Banque PSA Finance; Jagdeep Mallareddy, president, Head Retail Lending, Axis Bank and Bijoy Thaplial, senior VP, Retail Assets-Wheels, Axis Bank.

The PSA Group is bullish on its second innings in India as it readies to introduce the Citroen brand in the country. Citroen today announced that it has entered into an arrangement with Axis Bank, as a preferred banking partner, to introduce Citroen Finance in India.

Citroen Finance will provide retail finance and mobility solutions including value added products to its customers and customised credit solutions to its dealers in India.

As is known, earlier this year, the PSA Group confirmed that its Citroen brand would be its vehicle of re-entry into the India market. On April 2, the top management of the French carmaker were in Chennai and took the covers off the C5 Aircross SUV. The C5 Aircross, which is based on PSA’s EMP2 platform, will be the company’s first launch in India as a BS VI-compliant product and will go on sale before the end of 2020, with annual production capacity of 100,000 units from the Thiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu in Phase 1.

Commenting on the partnership between Citroen and Axis Bank, Roland Bouchara, senior vice-president, Sales and Marketing, Citroen India said, “This partnership with Axis Bank is in line with our commitment towards providing the best-in-class experience to our customers not only at our dealer showrooms but also online. Citroen Finance will be a one-stop financing solution for our customers and dealer partners in India, offering customised, unique and seamless financial services solutions.”

Jagdeep Mallareddy, president and head Retail Lending, Axis Bank said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Citroen, a leading global brand in the automobile segment and be a part of their growth story in India. This collaboration would enable offering Citroen’s advanced and world-class financial products to the Indian consumer, made available through Axis Bank’s extensive physical and digital reach across India. This partnership adds to our portfolio of large finance partnerships with international and domestic auto manufacturers.”

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