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

The French carmaker, which was slated to begin commercial operations in the country in September 2020, has rescheduled plans owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

By Mayank Dhingra calendar 07 Apr 2020 Views icon10778 Views Share - Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to LinkedIn Share to Whatsapp

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.

ALSO READ
Citroen plots a scalable growth strategy for India

PSA Group to launch 116 new cars across 5 brands by 2021

RELATED ARTICLES
Modern Automotives targets 25% CAGR in forged components by FY2031, diversifies into e-3Ws

auther Autocar Professional Bureau calendar05 Jul 2025

The Tier-1 component supplier of forged components such as connecting rods, crankshafts, tie-rods, and fork bridges to l...

VinFast’s second plant in Vietnam goes on stream ahead of India factory

auther Autocar Professional Bureau calendar30 Jun 2025

Vietnamese EV maker’s second plant in its home market, which has a 200,000 EVs-per-annum capacity, will focus on produci...

Continental exits TBR market in India, shifts focus to car and SUV radials

auther Autocar Professional Bureau calendar13 Jun 2025

German tyre manufacturer aims to tap the double-digit market growth opportunity for big SUV and luxury car tyres which w...