Coronavirus delays PSA's India market entry, C5 Aircross launch now in Q1 2021

French carmaker Groupe PSA, which was on track to commence its India innings with the rollout of its Citroen brand in the country, has announced a rejig of India market plans amid the Coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus, which has stalled economic activities and disrupted businesses across sectors in most developed as well as large economies around the world, is the sole reason for PSA’s change of strategy.

The Group, which was working towards entering the India market with the commercial launch of the Citroen C5 Aircross mid-sized SUV in September 2020, has decided to "re-time" the launch to Q1 2021.

In a press statement today, the company cited, “Groupe PSA in India in close co-ordination with its new dealer partners has decided to re-time the launch of its debut vehicle the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV to Q1 2021, while ensuring industrial readiness. The re-timing is aimed to move the commercial launch to a potentially more positive economic activity period where consumer sentiments are upbeat.”

However, Groupe PSA has not made any rearrangements to the project timeline for ‘C-Cubed’ – its programme to locally design and develop its first ground-up, made-in-India vehicle – which is also slated to be introduced in 2021.

While its office in Chennai and the two plants in Thiruvallur and Hosur in Tamil Nadu continue to remain shut amidst the ongoing nation-wide lock-down, the company has enforced a work-from-home regime for all employees and has advised all stakeholders to remain agile for business continuity after the release of the government-mandated lock-down.

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