Groupe PSA has started assembling Citroëns at its plant near Chennai. The first vehicle to get off the assembly line and likely to hit the market early next year is the C5 Aircross premium SUV.
The company held a ceremony at its Thiruvallur plant yesterday where Eric Apode, senior vice-president at PCA Motors Pvt Ltd India, said that the development was a great milestone for PCA Motors. (PCA Motors is part of Groupe PSA, having opened its India technical centre located in a specific building area, Chennai One, part of one of the Chennai Special Economic Zones [SEZ].)
The Thiruvallur plant is part of the JV floated by PSA Groupe and the CK Birla Group. It will have a capacity of 100,000 units a year in the first phase. The partners will also make Powertrains from their PSA-AVTEC Powertrain joint venture at Hosur in Tamil Nadu.
It was also announced that Groupe PSA is working on a new platform and India will be the first market to have products emanating from it. At least one car from this platform will be launched for the next 4-5 years with up to 90% localization, catering mainly to the Indian market.
In 2017, PSA announced a partnership with the CK Birla Group to re-enter the Indian market. The company decided to invest about Rs 2,400 crore (about $107 million US) for vehicle and powertrain manufacturing in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
This the second time for PSA in India. The company had entered a partnership with the erstwhile Premier family for a joint venture, Peugeot PAL India, but pulled out in 2001. In 2017, Groupe PSA announced a partnership with CK Birla Group to re-enter the Indian market as well as buying India’s Ambassador car brand.
See more Citroënvie articles on Citroën’s development history in India:
https://citroenvie.com/with-fca-and-psa-merged-what-will-citroens-future-be/
https://citroenvie.com/psa-group-buys-indias-ambassador-car-brand-for-12m/