Of the Peugeot, Citroen DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, Groupe PSA announced Citroen as the only one planned for India last month. However, it's still testing the DS 7 Crossback C-SUV in the country, spy shots shared by IAB reader Gaurav Marwah have revealed.
Citroen is positioned below Peugeot, while DS is positioned as the flagship brand. DS models will be probably too expensive for our market, and so will the Peugeot models be. That's probably the reason why Groupe PSA is bringing the Citroen brand here. The DS 7 Crossback shares its platform and engines with the Citroen C5 Aircross (and even the Peugeot 3008) arriving here next year, and that seems to be the only reason why it's being tested here. Manesar-based 'International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT)' agency is testing the luxury C-SUV.
The DS 7 made its public debut in early 2017. It comes with a number of powertrain options. It rides on EMP2 platform and uses PureTech petrol and BlueHDi diesel engines. The petrol options are 1.2-litre and 1.6-litre motors, while the diesel engines come in displacements of 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre. The transmission duties are performed by a 6-speed manual and an 8-speed auto gearbox. Groupe PSA has introduced a plug-in hybrid variant (E-TENSE 4x4) also, which will be launched internationally in 2020. The plug-in hybridd powertrain churns out 300 PS of maximum power and 450 Nm of maximum torque.
Also read: Groupe PSA to launch 4 Citroen models in India by 2023 - Report
Groupe PSA will launch the Citroen C5 Aircross in India before the end of 2020. It will be brought to the Indian market via a CKD route and the assembly will take place under a joint venture with the CK Birla Group, in Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu.
