Stellantis India to drive into India's e-fleet market with Citroën e-C3

Launches fifth-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee at Rs 77.5L

Stellantis India is all set to drive into India’s electric vehicle (EV) market with the Citroën e-C3 in January 2023, even as it plans to maintain the pace of launch of the internal combustion engine-powered models, the company’s senior executive said on the sidelines of the launch of the fifth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The e-C3 will first be launched for the fleet segment and subsequently introduced for the personal buyers, said Roland Bouchara, chief executive officer and managing director, Stellantis India.

 “We are going to launch the e-C3 by the beginning of next year. We will make a start with the business-to-business segment and subsequently launch it in the business-to-consumer segment,” Bouchara told Business Standard.

The company has chosen to enter the EV market for an offering for the commercial segment as there is very strong demand in the segment and hardly any competition. 

Peugeot-Citroën Automobile (part of Stellantis) is one among several automotive firms that was shortlisted for the production-linked incentive scheme.

Citroën has already showcased the car to some of the big fleet operators and the response has been very good, he said.  In addition to the e-C3, Stellantis is also working on the electrified versions of the Jeep models in India. “We have some development in progress for the Jeep brand,” he said referring to the electrification plan.

To be sure, with the exception of Tata Motors that sells the Tigor EV in the fleet segment under the Xpres-T EV brand and Build Your Dreams which entered the market with the e6 multi-purpose vehicle for the fleet segment, most carmakers have chosen to enter the electric car market with an offering for personal buyers.

Mahindra & Mahindra sold the E2O (the rebadged Reva) in the fleet segment and discontinued the model a few years back after tepid response. Henceforth, it has chosen to stay clear of the segment.  

Citroën entered the Indian market with the C3 — a premium hatchback in July. It currently has a network of 20 dealers that would be expanded to 45-50 in the first half of next year, said Bouchara.  

“We have sold 6,000 units of the model of a brand that was not known some months ago,” he said.

Meanwhile, Stellantis is hopeful about the new-generation Cherokee to sell better than the earlier generation with the trend for premiumisation having gained significant traction in the past few years.

With prices starting from Rs 77.5 lakh (ex-showroom, India), Jeep is locally assembling its new flagship sport utility vehicle.

India is the first market where the Grand Cherokee is being assembled outside of North America. The fourth-generation model, which was discontinued in 2020, was imported to India as a fully-built unit. The Cherokee rivals the Volvo XC90, Range Rover Velar, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Audi Q7, and the BMW X5.

Jeep India is optimistic about its growth prospects in 2023 on the back of its product range and said it is working on its next set of portfolios for the domestic market, Nipun Mahajan, head of Jeep India, told PTI.

“We are looking at growth for the next year as well. When we add a product, growth is going to happen… So we increase the customer base, we increase the volume and, of course, add more business to it,” he said.