Citroen C3: Can The French Automaker Tame The Sub-4m SUV Market In India?

Though the sub-4m SUV market is currently dominated by the Tata Nexon, both the Hyundai Venue and the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza are not that far away from the segment leader in terms of sales figures and the upcoming iterations of both these SUVs may boost the sales even further.

Apart from these, the upcoming Citroen C3 must also compete with other sub-4m SUVs such as the Kia Sonet, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Honda WR-V and Mahindra XUV300.

In recent times, the upcoming Citroen C3 SUV was spotted testing without any camouflage on Indian roads and the French SUV flaunted its attractive new dual-tone exterior colour. This particular test unit was spotted wearing a Grey exterior paint with a contrasting orange roof. Apart from that, this is the first time a Citroen C3 had been spotted in this colour in India.

Speaking about the Citroen C3, the sub-4m SUV is built on Citroen's Common Modular Platform (CMP) to keep the overall production costs low in order to make the SUV more affordable in the Indian market.

This is very crucial as the pricing will play a key role in India, as most consumers in the country are very sensitive to the price tag.

We also expect the Citroen C3 SUV to come with a wide variety of customisation options with 78 different accessories to choose from. This customisation program is very important as the compact SUV segment in India is very competitive and offering something unique is of utmost importance to stand out from the crowd.

In terms of features, the upcoming Citroen C3 SUV will sport a large 10-inch touchscreen system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, navigation and much more.

It is also rumoured that the Citroen C3 SUV may come with a flex-fuel engine, making it the model India's first SUV to come with a flex-fuel powertrain. This unit is likely to be a 1.2-litre turbocharged unit capable of producing 130bhp of peak power.

However, given the extensive testing, there could also be a possibility of the French automaker using a modified version of the 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated engine to displace just 1.5-litres. This will keep the overall costs down.

At present, Citroen retails the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV in the country and the SUV competes against the likes of other premium 5-seater SUVs such as the Jeep Compass, Hyundai Tucson, and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Thoughts About The Upcoming Citroen C3 SUV

Citroen has high hopes for the Citroen C3 SUV in India as the SUV competes in one of the most lucrative segments in India. However, the success of the SUV will depend on the pricing and the uniqueness offered by the manufacturer.