[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Have said this on other threads, and I do get surprised when people feel that quality monocoque crossovers should not be as expensive as cheap pick up based SUVs like the Fortuner and Endeavour. The fact is that people like me who buy monocoques would never think that a terrible to drive truck is an alternative for the product we like - and the cross overs could never serve on the rural roads that are the home base of the truck based SUVs.

Compare the C5 to the Compass, Tucson, Kodiaq, Tiguan and the entry level luxury crossovers. It does seem over priced even in that set, which is the challenge Citroen will face.

100% agree with this. The brute SUVs have their own USP and the sophisticated well built crossovers their own. I would happily consider a crossover but would never consider buying a Fortuner for sure. However, when it comes to price, one must bear in mind that barring the Tucson, almost every product mentioned in that list above is grossly overpriced and for the Citroen, a new entrant, being overpriced even in comparison shows just how badly it is priced.

Originally Posted by Hayek

Thinking a bit more, we should realise the both the C5 Aircross and the Jeep Compass are products from the same company, Stellantis. The Aircross is bigger than the Compass, and while it lacks a 4x4 Diesel
Auto, it is clearly a higher end product than the Compass. Add the CKD duty structures, SUV GST levels etc, and the price should have been no surprise at all.

Disagree with the Compass comparison here. The price is no surprise only because I always expected them to get it wrong. And they had left enough pricing teasers through journals to expect that. But I don’t agree that it should be considered superior to the Compass. The Compass is clearly way too small for the price it plays at - it has an inherently flawed size to price ratio. To benchmark to that flawed pricing and justify Citroen pricing would be misplaced (although being from the same group it is predictable).

Coming to the product comparison itself, the C5 has paddle shifters and a bigger boot than the Compass and that’s pretty much its size advantage summed up. On every other front the Compass trumps the C5 - it is significantly more luxurious from inside, it is a much more comfortable 4 seater, (not a single seat at the back of the Citroen offers the comfort of the well contoured rear two seats of the Compass) and lastly it has 4x4. The Compass is a bit better to drive (although its flawed gearbox is personally a fatal flaw) while the C5 has a much plusher ride quality. Overall the C5 should retail at most with the top of line overpriced Compass if not lower.

The duty structures are no answer from a customer’s perspective. They are the same for all manufacturers. You have to analyse the retail price at which your competition is available to customers and find a way to bring the product at a comparable landed price point. They can’t claim GST / CKD etc and simply put their hands up.

This is going to be a disastrous launch for Citroen at several levels and such disasters are always time consuming to recover from.

[prits_moh]

PSA group has other successful models(outside India) like Peugeot 3 series and 6 series cars, and they did not think of getting those.

MG Gloster , i perceive is greater value for money. i am all eyes to see how C5 holds up in our shores.

[krishnakarthik1]

All this surprise is actually disappointment masked as a shock. All of us knew it will be over priced. We just wished that it would surprise us positively so that we can pick it up but did not happen.

They should have priced it at 19.99 ex and offered interest free loans. But hey, who am I to advice.

So wannabe buyers its time to shift your focus to Alcazar. It could come at half of C5's price and will definitely come with half the safety rating.

[landcruiser123]

Hyundai should get the next gen Tucson ASAP and undercut the Citroen C5 by 4-5 lakhs and sell the new Santa Fe at the price of the Citroen C5.

[Kln]

If this was supposed to be a halo product meant to draw people into their ecosystem, I think they've misfired. If anything, the kitna deti hai crowd will relentlessly mock this outdated DOA car, and the people looking to spend 35L+ on their cars already have better, more reliable options available. The crux of the problem with the C5 is that it doesn't have any single USP to show for itself. Price, features, brand value (lol), ride quality, interiors, space - almost every single thing has a better option available for the price. It boggles my mind that newcomers in India don't want to emulate an already massive hit formula presented on a silver platter to them by the Koreans - price your car right, and pack it to the brim with features.

[swunkjyn]

I have gone through a lot of posts shared by other forum members and this resonates across all of us - The Price. KIA was a new player and they did not launch a 30 Lakhs car as they wanted to build the rapport first. Once that was build, selling Sonnet was easy. KIA CARNIVAL was a different story.
With Citreon, I think they do not want to sell to masses or in high numbers. That price range puts them close to Fortuner and Endeavour plus there are good options from VW/Skoda. I am expecting this too sell in double digit at a max but it will surely not create a ripple in the Indian Auto Industry. They were not thinking it through or in a longer run.

I was ambitious in thinking that this might be priced around 25 Lakhs mark.

[abhijet.sen]

Originally Posted by Axe77

100% agree with this. The brute SUVs have their own USP and the sophisticated well built crossovers their own. I would happily consider a crossover but would never consider buying a Fortuner for sure.

Most of us are not actually bothered about Crossover vs Body on Frame, which is a separate matter altogether and discussed a lot in the forum. I think it is just that Fortuner happens to be hugely successful, significantly bigger and closely priced w.r.t. C5. That is what bring in C5 vs Fortuner again and again. In terms of size, C5 pales even if it is standing against Hector twins or Harrier twins. C5 will be among crown taker for cars which flopped on arrival.

The bigger impact of this might be that Citroen not seeing enough customer traction may end up winding up from Indian market. While see MG, which launched car at such a competitive price that it became segment leader soon after launch.

[TrackDay]

Citroen messed up big time by not taking things slowly. The reason models like the Fortuner sell at their current prices is due to the brand power built over the years. It was not launched at the absurd prices it is today. Citroen should have done a low pricing at least for the initial one year till they build up the brand in India, post which they could have raised the prices. The only person benefiting from this situation is the Jeep Compass.

More than them, it is us the customers who have to lose if a brand packs up and leaves our shores. Hope Citroen has something else up in their bag to surprise us.

[sidharthg]

Oopsie Doopshie! Citroen got it bang wrong

I wonder if they have mixed up their market research with some other country? They should just fire these market research team, no offence to marketing people! But such blunders at the early stages of launch really weakens the foundation of the company.

Just acting all sophisticated with Le Maison and all the fashion aura around the brand will not make it successful. End of the day it boils down to the hard cash that the customer has to pay to get your product and the Value, a prospective buyer perceives.

I think they have to learn it the hard way, they had such golden opportunity to get in the Indian Market, but totally missed the bus. Worst of all, considering the level of Localization they have done from day 1 i.e. both Body & Engine are locally assembled , the car could have been easily priced much more competitive.

IMHO, they could have faired better with an MPV, which seems to be next hot segment. Maruti is having a laugh with success of XL6 & Ertiga, barely any competition in that price bracket.

Anyhow, best of luck to Le Maison!

[vivekshukla]

Citroen has caused quite a stir in the market by its ridiculous pricing. We have seen many threads of cars running into 10s of pages to discuss features etc., but I think this will be the first big thread just to discuss pricing.

I for one was waiting eagerly for this car and had registered on their website as well. I also received a call from them to 'see' the car in the Electronic City showroom. The car looks smashing from the outside if only the rear seats were better. The forward slide feature is rubbish in my opinion. With already a big boot, I don't think we would need to forward slide the seats to accommodate more luggage. This was let down number one.

Although I am not in the market (having bought a car in Mar), I was eagerly waiting for them to announce pricing. It should have been priced in the Safari territory and not even Tucson which is a far better car compared to C5. With new C5 coming on 12th April, another European car maker treats Indian customers poorly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQA6YITIYRs&t=5s

[Youngindus]

I have been welcoming this launch purely from perspective of having one more European car company in India to increase real options.

I don't like the looks (especially the bonnet curves to accommodate the logo, though its purely subjective. Am I the only one not to like it?

Let me also add my voice to the chorus of unattractive pricing. I really do not see too many people going for it at current prices, with Harrier, Alcazar, XUV 700, Compass, Tiguan, Fortuner and Endeavour as competitors at different price points.

I'll stick my neck out and predict steady sales of <250 units after first few months.

[Nexusios1521]

Originally Posted by vivekshukla

With new C5 coming on 12th April, another European car maker treats Indian customers poorly.

The new C5 will not be a replacement for the C5 Aircross. It will be an entirely different car that will co-exist with the C5 Aircross in Citroen's global lineup.

Link to Team-BHP thread about the new C5: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...pril-12-a.html (2022 Citroen C5 teased: global unveil on April 12)

[magikrider]

Beautiful car! It ticks all the right boxes in my opinion. Reasonably spacious, decently powered, great ride quality, which btw is very important for SUVs as it’s used more on highways. Good comfort levels and feature loaded as well. I think I would definitely consider this as my next car. Let’s see how this compares to the upcoming Hyundai Tucson, which is launched in international markets already.

This may not be as good an offroader as Fortuner or Endeavour but most of us don’t do serious off roading. We need a good comfy SUV with enough GC to tackle bad roads and craters formed on highways in monsoons. And some light off-roading at the most, which these type of cars with a good 200+ mm GC can easily handle well. Most Fortuner users also use it for highway use only. Hardly anyone go on off-road tracks.

How does the overall fit, feel and comfort levels compare to Tiguan All space and Tucson is what needs to be seen.

[KaurDiCar]

Fantastic pricing by Citroen, they already know that at this price this car won't move more than 100 units per month, but now when they launch overpriced hatches and compact SUVs , people won't mind paying the extra bucks because they will be exclusive. Had they priced this competitively it still wouldn't have moved more than 200 units per month with competition from the likes of Harrier/Safari but that wouldn't have got them any brand recognition either. It's much better this way. Good stuff Citroen.

[Venkatesh]

Deliveries of Citroen C5 Aircross commence in India

Commenting on start of deliveries, Mr. Roland Bouchara, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Citroën India, said, “The new Citroën C5 Aircross SUV embodies all the elements of the Citroën Advanced Comfort program. This ties up very well with our brand ethos of Citroën 360 degree comfort to enhance the overall customer experience."

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