Citroen India, part of the Stellantis group, on Wednesday announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) to commence its export program from India.

PAIPL, the Indian affiliate of Citroen India, will be exporting the Made-In-India ‘New C3’ B-hatch vehicles to countries in ASEAN & Africa. The exports of the vehicle will commence in March 2023 as a completely built units.

Roland Bouchara, CEO & MD, Stellantis India said "This partnership with Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) fortifies the Stellantis group’s ‘India for the World’ philosophy that will leverage India’s distinctive manufacturing export potential. In 2019, we started exporting powertrains from our Hosur facility and with the commencement of the with the New C3 exports as a CBU this year we are marking a key milestone in our India journey. We have created a 360-degree ecosystem that is reaping strong results for the group and we will continue to grow this in the future."

The French car maker is designing and developing a range of compact cars based on its C Cube platform aimed at the emerging markets.

C3 compact car is the first of three cars planned on the platform. The company started retailing C3 in July of 2022. The kicking off exports is aimed at building economies of scale and ensure profitable operation. Citroen is scheduled to launch on another model on the same platform later in the year internally codenamed CC24, which is likely to be C3 crossover aimed at growing SUV market.   

Guy Lederer, Head-Supply Chain & Logistics for India, Asia Pacific, Stellantis says "Kamarajar Port meets all of Citroen's requirements to export vehicles from India as part of its internationalization strategy. A port of significant importance in India’s sea logistics ecosystem, the Kamarajar Port will be used to export made-in-India Citroen vehicles from the Smart Car platform to the world. We are looking forward to a cooperative and successful working relationship with KPL to achieve the highest level of on-time delivery at competitive costs."

Kamarajar Port, is amongst the fastest growing seaport in India, located on the country’s east coast, about 24 km north of the Chennai Port. The facility includes a berth for car exports and other general cargo; this berth can accommodate the world's largest car carrier which can carry 8,000 cars. The port also includes a car parking yard that can accommodate 14,000 cars, making the yard the largest such facility in any Indian port.

Sunil Paliwal, CMD, Kamarajar Port Limited, says “We are glad to enter into an agreement with PCA Automobiles to offer our Port services for export of Citroen brand vehicles to countries in ASEAN & Africa. Associating with PCA Automobiles will help us augment our export operations. We hope to make this collaboration a success and contribute to India’s economy.”