[Sensible_Speed]

Citroen entered India quite inconspicuously in early 2021 with a single SUV and the promise of local manufacturing and demography specific products. Almost 3 years on, the brand seems as confusing as ever. Are they targeting high sales? Is India just a base for export operations? I try to ponder aloud about these questions in the post below.

Citroen's first product, the C5 Aircross was excellent, but dare I say, half-baked. It had many things going for it and showcased the brand's technical ideology almost perfectly: quirky, yet comfortable cars for the discerning modern city-dweller. But, its flaws were too big to overlook. First, there was a lack of a petrol engine that city-dwellers prefer. Then, there was a lack of any visible distinction, that would set it apart from other SUVs in the segment and compel you to buy one over them. For what it's worth, the diesel engine was terrific, the gearbox was excellent and the ride was simply brilliant. What the car lacked was direction. And it reflects in the brand today.

Citroen claim, they are taking a cautious approach and that their growth is all organic. But what major automotive manufacturer doesn't look to grow organically? To understand this, all one needs to do is compare them with Kia. Kia as a brand came into India with the same claims as Citroen did. They built a manufacturing facility. Launched a single product to showcase their brand philosophy and then subsequently, ventured into other segments- all the while leaving their pristine image intact.

Citroen on the other hand, seems to have misread the Indian market completely. Their mass market offering, the C3, sells fewer numbers than Toyota does, a 50 lakh Fortuner. But, Citroen reports that their India venture is already profitable. One can assume from this, Citroen makes the majority of their net income from exports. Because, the sales figures from the domestic market clearly doesn't show it. If you compare the Kia launch to Citroen's, within a few months of Kia starting to sell their cars here, the Seltos became commonplace on Indian roads. And that visibility has only increased over time and across their product line.

In Citroen's case, their lineup of four cars are collectively an enigma on Indian roads today. The eC3 admittedly does better by way of sales figures, but it still doesn't show the brand in good light. Citroen hoped to turn their fortunes around with the C3 Aircross, but that car is virtually non-existent on Indian roads since launch, too! I have seen more Honda Elevates than Citroens altogether on Bangalore roads!

What went wrong for Citroen?
Foremost of all, they perceived the Indian buyer to be financially judicious above all other measure. This is where their doom was spelt. The Indian buyer has become increasingly exposed to the materialistic pleasures of life as their expendable income has ballooned. Citroen's offered look half-baked and just drab! Couple it with the glacial expansion of sales and service touchpoints and it becomes easy to understand why we don't see as many Citroen's on the road today.

Let us now examine their product itself. Certain cost-saving measures, irk me as a consumer as unnecessary. The ORVM adjustments, sub-par plastic quality, the colours and textures used in the cabin are all just off-putting. Then, the lack of an automatic transmission becomes glaring as most customers of theirs live in cities and prefer autos over manuals. If something like the Tata Punch, with its wheezy 1.2 three-cylinder and the jerky amt can sell so well, surely a car with better mechanics must do a lot better.

Let us hope Citroen realize the flaws in their strategy for India and work something out quickly. The brand has pedigree and the engineering craft to back it up. It is just a matter of perception and visibility now. They will have to spruce up their weary looking interiors and offer a few more nice-to-have features. But most importantly, they will have to acknowledge the Indian consumer on par with their western counterparts.

[achyutaghosh]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

Their mass market offering, the C3, sells fewer numbers than Toyota does, a 50 lakh Fortuner. But, Citroen reports that their India venture is already profitable. One can assume from this, Citroen makes the majority of their net income from exports. Because, the sales figures from the domestic market clearly doesn't show it.

I think exports dependent car manufacturing companies will not last for long in India, as sooner than later people will start questioning their presence in a non-core market, and their performance in a fast growing car market. We have seen that in the past- Ford, GM etc.

Having said that, on a lighter note, Citroen's strategy reminds me of my engineering days, and specifically engineering mechanics professor who used to say-

"Achyuta, your answers are like you are throwing stones in the dark, and just hoping that one would hit the target"

Citroen keep doing the same thing- an electric small car, a everyday small car sans features and options, a premium luxury SUV that hardly sold which was killed by more price hikes. Not sure if anyone has a plan in that organization.

And i guess that is the reason Aditya Jairaj got promoted- incredibly, Jeep,with all it's share of bad decisions, is still doing better than Citroen relatively speaking

[Satkaj]

Power of Team Bhp: I received a message from Citron Mumbai dealer” Sir, have you posted any thing on Social media? On Team Bhp? I said yes. And we exchanged few messages in which I again showed my keen interest in buying C5 provided discounts were better. I was told that he is in discussions and will revert back.

It is almost a week now and power of Silence has taken over🤣.

[DRPSREDDY]

Citroen has already missed the bus in getting a decent welcome into the Indian market. They have hit on their own legs with their misconceptions or lets say their product placement and expectations. These European still think Indian still buy crap and are not ready to embrace technology and will accept low quality and stripped down cars. That may happen in markets like Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, where imports are very high and Pakistan where cars are just assembled with parts imported due to low volumes and expensive import duties.

Indian market demands tech filled cars, and that shows how most of the customers are purchasing top end model of any launched car. If Citroen want to seriously tap the market, we need tech filled cars with a variety of engine /transmission options. With local manufacturing of parts, Cars in India are cheaper albeit government taxes.

Read the recent Interview with India Design head of TATA motors Ajay Jain on Car Dekho. Their market research get into a new dimension. Indian car buyers want the extra bling and are willing to stretch their budget. Even one poll from our forum too echoes to a certain extent about this findings.

They somehow misread the Indian market and planned for a different segment of low tech demanding buyers which actually are less in numbers.

Cardekho -Indian buyers place significant emphasis on design over affordability -Ajay Jain India design studio head

[Sensible_Speed]

Originally Posted by achyutaghosh

I think exports dependent car manufacturing companies will not last for long in India, as sooner than later people will start questioning their presence in a non-core market, and their performance in a fast growing car market. We have seen that in the past- Ford, GM etc.

So true. Their products lack real substance. They seem to be in the market just for the heck of it. Also, I just found out the C3 scored 0 starts in Latin NCAP.

[Cry0gen]

Originally Posted by theturbogirl

Well, there is another perspective to look at it.

Are cars bad? - I don't think so, these are fun to drive, comfortable car. First hand information after owning Honda, Hyundai, Tata, and Maruti.

Then what went wrong?
As I write today, Citroen has 51 dealers in India. When compared to Ranault (around 400 dealers), Kia ( around 700 dealers), Hyundai ( around 1000 dealers in India) etc.

Well someone finally addressed the elephant in the room. Thanks for sharing the view which I too share. A quick proportionate car sales per showrooms will show that Citroen is really not doing that bad. Also, lineup should also be considered. I mean, it's one thing to have a countrywide presence and still doing bad, and another to have negligible presence and still being compared to the old entrants. To be honest, the company is yet to complete it's 5 year stint. Let it have some time to get its bearings. Let the C3X be launched. Let the facelifts come. Let the dealer/service networks expand to the Tier2 cities at least. Let all these happen, then we can speculate whether this brand is going to have its Ford/Chevrolet moment.

Another thing I would like to add, KIA was bound to be success in India, given its majority ownership of Hyundai and sharing of platforms ala Seltos/Creta, Sonet/Venue. So comparing CITROEN to KIA will be unfair to say the least.

[antonylejos]

Tata Nexon is one of the most popular compact SUVs in India, with more than 17 variants to choose from. It offers a range of features and options, such as cruise control, sunroof, turbo engine, and automatic transmission, to cater to different customer preferences and budgets.

However, not every customer is looking for the same thing in a car. Some may value cruise control more than sunroof, while others may prefer a turbo engine over an automatic transmission. Therefore, it is not fair to compare the entire Tata Nexon lineup or Entire Seltos /Sonet lineup with another car such as C3, because each variant is a different product in itself.

For example, a Seltos full option, turbo engine, with panoramic sunroof, which is retailing for 25 lac on road, is an entirely different product from a lower end Seltos HTE, retailing at 13.5 lacs, without even Android auto. Similarly, a Nexon XZA+ (O) with sunroof and cruise control, retailing at 12.7 lacs, is a different product from a Nexon XE, retailing at 9.5 lacs, without either of those features, not even android auto or power windows.

This brings us to the case of Citroen C3. Citroen C3 is a car, with a starting price of 7-9 lacs, and a top-end price of 10 lacs. It comes with a standard 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. It has only 3 variants, which can be compared to particular variants of Nexon or Venue or Seltos. Not to top-end variants, and for the price point it is available, it is actually Value-for-money.

However, Citroen C3 has been facing criticism from some quarters, for its lack of features, such as sunroof, cruise control, rear AC vents, and wireless charging. Some have even declared it a failure, based on its low sales numbers, compared to its rivals, such as Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, and Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

But is this a fair comparison? Can we compare Citroen C3 with Tata Nexon, or any other car, without considering the variants, features, and prices? Can we compare a Wagon R or a KWID with a C3, just because they are cheaper and have more features? Of course not. That would be like comparing apples to oranges, or worse, grapes to watermelons.

Citroen C3 is not competing with the entire Tata Nexon lineup, or any other car’s lineup, for that matter. It is competing with specific variants of specific cars, that match its price range and feature list. And if we compare the sales of C3 with those variants, we will get a more realistic picture of its performance.

For instance, if we compare the sales of C3 with the sales of Nexon variant with manual Ac and no Android auto, which is the closest variant to C3 in terms of price and features, we will see that C3 is not doing so badly, means C3 is selling just 25-30% less than Nexon. This can be ignored, considering that Nexon is a well-established brand, while C3 is a newcomer. Do not forget atleast 20 times more showsrooms that tata has.

So, why should Citroen compete in a market where it is not even in? Why should it offer features that are not relevant to its target audience (for now), or compromise on its quality and design, to match the price of its competitors? That would be unfair to Citroen, and to its customers, who appreciate its premium and distinctive appeal.

Citroen C3/C3A is not a failure, and should be judged on its own merits, not on the basis of irrelevant comparisons.

[Gotcha]

Stellantis should just shut down the Citroen brand and focus on Jeep by bringing in exciting products like the Avenger. Indians want to buy good looking, tough crossovers.

[dragracer567]

Just to show how bad the situation is, Mercedes & BMW each are selling more cars than Citroen & Jeep! The sales are more spread out across different models but given the high price, there is no comparison on the profits. Citroen totally messed up their product strategy while Jeep just stopped launching new products with the Compass and the Meridian being the only targetted models for India.

Just GM, Citroen is too European-focused to succeed anywhere else (except maybe China).

[jomyboy]

Originally Posted by antonylejos

So, why should Citroen compete in a market where it is not even in? Why should it offer features that are not relevant to its target audience (for now), or compromise on its quality and design, to match the price of its competitors?

What quality are we talking about? Its another one of those 0-star death traps being sold to the gullible Indian buyer. Good handling cars are something to aspire for, but not at the cost of safety.

[antonylejos]

Originally Posted by jomyboy

What quality are we talking about? Its another one of those 0-star death traps being sold to the gullible Indian buyer. Good handling cars are something to aspire for, but not at the cost of safety.

To compare and how much safe C3 is we have to wait till it gets GNCAP or BNCAP rating. As of today, not even a single person died in C3 accidents in India (As per SC) (may be this can change as I write this, this is not a challenge) though there were many accident cars in SC.

In Latin NCAP many other cars also has 0 star, which is never discussed in India, including team-bhp.

[Siddj38]

They have really lethargic pace of responding.

I placed a query on the website for the C3, to which I go a call back 1 week after we had finalised something else and booked.

It becomes really hard to convince the family to go for a car which already feels like to be on the last legs when the communication at the time of buying is so slow. God forbid what would happen if there ia an issue with the car and needs some support directly from the factory.

For perspective, i did the same with MS, Tata and VW. They all reached out within a couple of days if not the next. VW went ahead and even reached out to get my feedback on how was my overall experience interacting with the sales staff over the call even when I decided to go for something else.

[Asworstos]

I don't know what value it will hold but here I am again to lend my voice to this discussion from a country down south.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously but here in Singapore Citroen have, from a time where the C4 Picasso Mk.2 was everywhere on the roads, lost all trust even with the amiable families who were inclined to consider that MPV for its competitive price, use of a diesel engine, and excellent packaging.

Shortly after, PSA's best kept secret, their failure-prone and horrendously expensive to repair AdBlue/DEF system, struck. Tens of thousands of owners once out of warranty were left to choose between picking up bills of up to SGD2,500 (that's like 1.5 lakhs) or have their car completely undriveable (as AdBlue disables the vehicle once it fails.) This is not the best part - the dealer for Peugeot, their stablemate, chose to offer a 10-year warranty on the tank. Such double standards did not go unnoticed by frugal young Singaporean families and many swore they would never touch another French product again.

Since then there has never been another car from Citroen that sold in the volumes that the C4 Picasso did. The new C4 hatchback and C5 Aircross are sparse on our roads and it's commonly opined that brands like Lamborghini and SEAT both sell more cars than Citroen.

That the French simply don't know how to engineer or sell automobiles is known the world over - it is their traditional arrogance that precludes them winning trust either to begin with. They are the panda (ha!) of the automotive world; all their success is down to sheer luck bestowed by pliant markets (like their home market of Europe - in which they aren't even a leader -) or discounts.

I would strongly advise not touching the C3 Aircross, for the 1.2 PureTech engine's crumble-prone timing belt-in-oil are a well-known Easter egg by now and I have no faith that it will endure harsh Indian conditions. I don't know whether Citroen was just being (as usual) dumb by not introducing the AT version immediately upon launch, or whether they know something about its long-term reliability that we don't. Either way, stay away from French. There's no point anymore when things have gotten so good in Korean or even Skoda land.

[coldice4u]

Citroen is taking corrective steps. Automatic AC and a flip key will be introduced soon. I wonder what was going through their heads during product planning. Only if they had looked up the history of the Etios/Liva twins before launching. Even Toyota reliability, brand name or the 4 star safety rating could bring decent numbers.

I hope they atleast add auto folding mirrors and also reposition the rear window switches.

[C1985V]

I feel one big reason of the failure of Citroen is lack of proper sales or marketing. Yes the car does lack few features but I won't term it as a bad car.

In a market as diverse as India I am sure Citroen would find buyers agreeing to buy a car with rear power window switches placed awkwardly, flap handles, lack of auto AC etc - it may not sell as much as a TATA or Hyundai ofcourse but may just do decent enough to survive. As of now I think they have tied up with fleet services as I have got assigned a C3 ev couple of times.

I am in market for a car and recently started visiting websites of cars and registering interest. Almost immediately I started receiving calls/SMS daily from all the brands except Citroen. So perhaps they need to market themselves more.