Citroen is gearing up to make a debut in the Indian market. The C5 Aircross mid-size SUV will be the first model of the French brand in our country, which is expected to go on sale in the Q1 of 2021. But ahead of its launch, the brand has also started working on its second product, which is likely to be a sub-4m SUV. Recently, it has been spied on during testing. If reports are to be believed, Citroen has codenamed this model as C21, and it's a part of Citroen’s C Cubed program, where the three C stands for ‘Cool, Comfort, Clever’.
The testing mule was fully wrapped in camouflage but despite this, it revealed some design & features details. Upfront, the car features a split headlamp setup, chevron styled familiar Citroën bonnet, and a chunky bumper with two air dams. The silhouette of the car is quite boxy with a slightly sloping roofline. On the inside, a floating touchscreen infotainment system can be seen.
As the spied model was not having, alloy wheels, rear wiper, and defogger, therefore, it might be a lower variant.
The SUV looks quite compact and it is expected to be underpinned by Citroen's new Common Modular Platform (CMP), which is specially designed for the developing markets.
Under the hood, the upcoming French sub-4m SUV is likely to house a 1.2-liter turbo petrol engine. The platform is also compatible with the brand's 1.5-liter diesel engine. However, whether the brand will offer the diesel engine is still not confirmed.
While Citroen has not confirmed any above details, we expect the brand to soon make official comments regarding this. The SUV will also be sold in global markets like South America. In India, it will take on the likes of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV300, Nissan Magnite, Ford EcoSport, Toyota Urban Cruiser, and the upcoming Renault Kiger.
PSA Group is expected to manufacture this car in India as the brand had collaborated with the CK Birla group for manufacture, assembly, and distribution, even it has already started the trial assembly of its C5 Aircross SUV at its facility located in Thiruvallur, Tamilnadu.
