Citroen Basalt Coupe SUV Production Commences In India Ahead Of Launch
Citroen, the French automaker did not gain much popularity in India. The brand is planning to launch multiple new cars in the Indian market to solidify its position. Soon, the brand will launch the Basalt SUV whose production has already begun. The official launch is just weeks away.
The Citroen Basalt is being built in the Thiruvallar plant which is located in Tamil Nadu. This news has been confirmed by Autocar India. Other cars such as the Citroen C3 Aircross SUV, C3 and the EV version of C3, eC3 are also being built in the Tiruvallur plant. The Citroen Basalt SUV will be made in India and the brand will be exporting this SUV to other right hand drive markets as well.
The Citroen Basalt features a coupe SUV design. For those who do not know, a coupe SUV is a car which has high ground clearance as an SUV with a sloping roofline seen in coupe cars. This sloping roofline allows the car to have better aerodynamics. Regarding the dimensions, the Basalt will measure 4300 mm in length, 1770 mm in width and 1660 mm in height.
In the Indian market, the Basalt will rival the upcoming Tata Curvv which features a similar design. Both the Basalt and the Curvv are positioned in the compact SUV segment. With these cars, the brands are aiming to introduce something new in the highly crowded segment dominated by Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and many other SUVs.
The Citroen Basalt is expected to be powered by the same engine option as the C3 Aircross SUV which is a 1.2-litre turbo petrol unit. This engine delivers a power output of 110 HP and a torque of 190 Nm. Transmission options are also expected to be similar as the C3 Aircross which is offered with a six speed manual transmission or a six speed torque converted automatic.
There’s an all-electric version of the Citroen Basalt in the pipeline, but that variinat is at least a year from reaching showrooms. The Citroen C3 Aircross
Citroen as a brand is highly criticized for not offering much tech in its vehicles especially when compared to the South Korean players such as Hyundai and Kia. Simply speaking, the cars offered by Citroen do not seem value for money when compared to other cars in the same segment.
With the Basalt and other upcoming launches, Citroen India is expected to offer much more tech in their cars. Additionally, we can also expect the brand to work on their safety standards and build quality considering the fact that the Citroen eC3 and the C3 scored 0 stars in GNCAP. A high crash test rating is a significant deal-swinger among car-buying Indians, who now have access to a range of 5 star rated SUVs.
Notably, Citroen will not be bringing the all-new C5 AirCross to India, which also means that the company’s new flagship model will be the Basalt coupe SUV. Citroen’s strategy for India will be playing in the most big-volume segments, and also capturing a significant chunk of cab traffic through it’s lower models.
Via ACI