The Indian auto scene now boasts of the presence of almost all major brands from across the world. The ones which are yet to make their foray here are preparing to do so. Latest in the line is Groupe PSA, which will soon make its debut in India. Recently, a car from one of their sub-brand, DS was caught testing on our soil. The DS7 Crossback, as the car in the picture below is known as, is a premium offering by the company which will be launched in India in coming time.
DS in fact is, as already mentioned, a sub brand of Citroen that was created in a bid to challenge the supermacy of the German Trio in the European market. The German trident, consisting of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes Benz, rules the luxury segment all over the world. Talking about the car, the DS7 Crossback is a premium SUV/Crossover that takes on the likes of BMW X1 and Audi Q3 among others. The car looks quite stylish too with abundance of chrome and curves in the body design.
It gets powered by a range of engines in the international markets. The DS7 Crossback gets a 1.5-litre diesel engine that generates a maximum 130 Bhp of power, a 2.0-litre diesel engine that produces a maximum 180 Bhp power and lastly, a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine that generates a maximum 222 Bhp of power. The car is available with both manual and automatic transmission options. However, the diesel engine variant get only the manual transmission while the petrol variants get the automatic transmission version too.
The Indian version is most likely to get the 1.6 litre and the 2.0 litre engine options. The DS7 Crossback is based on Groupe PSA’s EMP2 platform, which also underpins many other vehicles of the group. However, it is still unclear what name the group will bring in the car to India with. As DS is quite unknown to most of the people in India, it remains to be seen if the company brings the car under DS badge or changes it to Citroen or Peugeot.
PSA had earlier bought the rights for the Ambassador brand in India and will be developing a vehicle to don that name soon. The company has already setup a manufacturing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, which in fact was inaugurated in November last year and is functional under a 50:50 joint venture with CK Birla Group. It currently manufactures engines and transmissions for the company and an assembly line is under development.
Getting back to the car, the DS7 Crossback takes on the likes of BMW X1 and Audi Q3. However, it is larger than them and is also better equipped than them in most aspects. It gets a plush interior and has many other features that are not seen before in the segment. Expect the brand to make their official entry in India by 2020 with many other models in pipeline.
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