The French carmaker Citroen did not become very well-known in India. To bolster its position in the Indian market, the brand intends to introduce several new vehicles. The firm has started production on the Basalt SUV, which will soon be released. It will be official in a few weeks.
In Tamil Nadu, at the Thiruvallar facility, the Citroen Basalt is now under construction. Autocar India has verified this information. The Citroen C3 Aircross SUV, C3, and the EV C3 and eC3 are among the other vehicles being produced at the Tiruvallur plant. The Citroen Basalt SUV is scheduled to be manufactured in India and exported to other markets that accept right-hand drive vehicles.
The Citroen Basalt has an SUV coupe body style. For those who are unaware, a coupe SUV is an SUV with a sloping roofline that is characteristic of coupe automobiles and high ground clearance. Its sloping roofline improves the car’s aerodynamics. The Basalt’s measurements are as follows: it will be 4300 mm long, 1770 mm wide, and 1660 mm tall.
The Basalt will compete with the Tata Curvv, a future car with a similar design, in the Indian market. The Basalt and the Curvv are situated under the category of small SUVs. With these vehicles, the manufacturers hope to break into a highly competitive market that is dominated by SUVs such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Selto, and numerous others.
The 1.2-liter turbocharged petrol engine that powers the C3 Aircross SUV is anticipated to power the Citroen Basalt as well. This engine produces 190 Nm of torque and 110 HP of power. It is anticipated that the C3 Aircross’s six-speed manual and six-speed torque-converted automatic gearbox options would be comparable.
Although it will take at least a year for the Citroen Basalt to go on sale, there is an all-electric variant in the works. The C3 Aircross from Citroen.Citroen’s lack of technological innovation in its cars has drawn harsh criticism from consumers, particularly when contrasted with South Korean automakers like Hyundai and Kia.
Citroen India is anticipated to provide significantly more technology in their vehicles with the Basalt and other future releases. Additionally, given that the Citroen eC3 and C3 received a GNCAP rating of zero stars, we may anticipate that the brand will improve its build quality and safety requirements. Indian automobile buyers now have access to a variety of 5-star SUVs, and a high crash test rating is a big deal-breaker.
Notably, Citroen has decided not to introduce the much anticipated C5 AirCross in India. This implies that the Basalt coupe SUV would replace the C5 AirCross as the company’s flagship product. In addition to participating in the highest volume segments, Citroen intends to use its cheaper models to secure a sizeable portion of the taxi market in India.
