Citroen is taking the Indian market quite seriously. They launched their flagship, the C5 AirCross as a CKD and now they are working on an all-new product which has been codenamed CC21. Unlike, the C5, the CC21 will be built in India and South America so it will be priced competitively as compared to the C5. The CC21 will be called the Citroen C3 and it will be a compact SUV. It will be entering production in late December 2021 simultaneously in India and South America. Citroen will be unveiling the C3 on 16th September.
The new compact SUV is expected to come with heavy localization. This would help in lowering the pricing of the compact SUV when compared to the rivals. Earlier, the C3 was supposed to be unveiled in May’21 but because of the covid situation, it got postponed. Now, the C3 will go on sale in early 2022.
Sales targets
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Citroen is aiming to produce 33,000 units of C3 in a year. This means that the monthly production should be around 2,750 units. It will be built at the Thiruvallur plant. The production capacity would be slowly increased to 1,00,000 units annually. Currently, Citroen only has 10 dealerships across India. This number is expected to increase when the C3 is launched. Citroen will also take bookings of the new compact SUV through their online platform.
The production target for South America is much higher when compared to India. Citroen is aiming at a production target of 71,000 units annually which roughly translates to 5,900 units per month. Citroen’s sibling Peugeot is already present in the South American market. The C3 will be built at Group PSA’s Porto Real Production Centre. The production plant has a capacity of 1,50,000 units annually. Other models that belong to Group PSA are already being built there.
Powertrain
The C3 will be offered only with a petrol engine. It will be a 1.2-litre unit that will be turbocharged. What we also know is that it will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox or an automatic transmission. Which automatic transmission will Citroen use is not yet known. The power outputs from the engine are expected to be around 100 PS while the torque should be around 150 Nm. It will be a front-wheel-drive powertrain.
Design
From the recent spy shots and the scale model, we know that the shape of the compact SUV will be boxy and upright just like the Venue. But the design elements will have Citroen’s quirkiness. So, different coloured accents around the fog lamps, outside rearview mirrors, roof and side skirts.
At the front, there will be a split headlamp setup where the LED Daytime Running Lamp will sit above and will also double up as a turn indicator. The main headlamp unit will sit below and can have a projector setup. Although nothing is confirmed as of now.
At the side, there will be alloy wheels and a different coloured roof if you opt for the dual-tone paint job. The rear will have a LED tail lamps and a faux skid plate.
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