“Our target is to take Citroën sales to 2000 per month,” says Stellantis MD Shailesh Hazela, at the launch event of the Citroën Basalt X. The Basalt X is based on the top-spec variant of the coupè-styled crossover, and comes with a new colour scheme along with a host of new features, including a new AI digital assistant dubbed “Cara”.
At present, Citroën India sells fewer than 500 cars a month, with 494 units sold in the month of July. Buoyed by the new and simplified GST structure, Hazel is confident that the brand will witness an uptick in sales as Citroen’s C3 derivatives (sans the Aircross) benefit from the GST revision from 28% to 18%.
At present, Stellantis India has two brands under its umbrella, namely, Jeep and Citroën, with a third, Leapmotor, set to debut by early 2026. Leapmotor, a Chinese EV manufacturer, is set to enter India via a Stellantis-led joint venture, with Stellantis owning a majority stake in Leapmotor International.
However, Hazel has remained steadfast about the fact that Stellantis does not intend to avail the government’s EV incentives, which require foreign carmakers to invest ₹4,150 crore in setting up EV manufacturing in India, allowing the brand to import 8,000 vehicles over five years at a reduced customs duty of 15%. For the moment, however, Stellantis is counting on the rumoured India-Europe free-trade agreement (FTA) to bring in more models.
Stellantis bets on long-term strategy over short-term incentives
“It’s (the FTA) a matter of when and not if. An FTA, for a company like Stellantis, is always good news, as we have manufacturing presence in 62 countries. It gives us a lot of comfort in terms of longevity,” says Hazela.
When the brand does make its entry into the Indian market, Leapmotor will be besieged by intense competition, particularly in the mid-size SUV and premium compact hatchback space where it intends to compete. Without investing in a local plant, Stellantis appears to be hedging its bets.
“The Stellantis philosophy is that we don’t build plants around policies only. It has to be self-sustaining. We don’t want to get into penetrating prices and then not sustaining it specifically for the local market. For us, it is very important that wherever we go, we meet the expectations of the local market in a way that does not become a constraint for us after a few months or a few years. That’s what we learnt from Jeep,” says Hazela, adding that he is counting on the improving relations between India and China “to aid our plans to move faster”.
Stellantis has already spent ₹11,000 crore in India, covering its manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu, and R&D centres in Pune and Chennai, among other things.
As it stands, Jeep India’s own product offensive for the future remains unclear. The brand currently sells the Meridian and the Compass, along with its premium offerings like the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee. The Compass is indisputably Stellantis’s strongest offering thus far; however, due to high developmental costs, the brand isn’t bringing in the next-gen Compass to India and will continue to sell the current version for the foreseeable future.
“We are evaluating all the options for Jeep, both through FTA or GST. Jeep could be in the B or C segment, both with a price that is sustainable. The key challenge for the brand is to maintain its reputation as a premium carmaker while also tapping into the most competitive, fastest-growing segments, which, according to Hazela, are primarily the B and C segments.
“We are actively looking at the B-segment because that’s where the mass is. And while we want to make it premium, we also want to make it more accessible. So we are evaluating what product can be localised because without localisation, we cannot sustain,” says Hazela. For the moment, the Jeep Compass is available with a diesel-only powertrain. Hazela says, “Personally, I don’t think diesel is going away. Diesel is cheaper, and beyond BSVII, its refinement will also be higher. India lives in harmony with everything.”
Citroën, which has yet to have a breakout success like Jeep did with the Compass, is showing promising year-on-year growth, but has yet to have the brand recall value that Hazela would want it to have. When asked about the key barriers that Citroën India has faced, as a brand, Hazela attests that it primarily comes down to reach.
“I think it’s the reach to the customer,” says Hazela, on retail expansion being a key focus for the brand at the moment. When asked whether any states are priority markets, Hazela says Citroën is looking at India overall.
“We have a lot of floating manpower in India. So if our customers decide to move, they shouldn’t feel neglected. We are looking to have a presence in every state. We’re present in Assam, in Manipur, we are opening in Siliguri as well”.