MADRID — Citroen will launch a full-electric model of its New C3 minicar subsequent month in India, nevertheless it’s not clear if the automobile might be developed for Europe as a rival to the Dacia Spring.
The New C3, a four-door hatchback lower than 4 meters lengthy, is the primary mannequin in Citroen’s Sensible Automotive vary, which is geared toward rising and creating markets. Will probably be adopted by two extra fashions within the subsequent two years. Citroen says it has acquired orders for six,000 New C3s in India, the place it’s constructed close to Chennai, and seven,000 in Brazil, the place the automobile might be assembled on the Porto Actual manufacturing unit.
Citroen CEO Vincent Cobee stated on the sidelines of a Citroen occasion in Madrid that he wouldn’t touch upon whether or not the eC3, as will probably be recognized, can be homologated and bought or produced in Europe.
Renault Group has bought the Spring, which was initially developed as a combustion-engine car for the Indian market referred to as the Renault Kwid, since 2021 in Europe. The electrical model is inbuilt China with Renault’s three way partnership associate JMEV.
The Spring has been a hit for Dacia, with greater than 40,000 gross sales in 2022, at a worth as little as 16,000 euros with incentives (in France). Dacia says it has acquired greater than 100,000 orders since its launch in spring 2021.
Cobee stated that in India that the eC3 can be first bought to enterprise clients or fleet operators due to an absence of public charging infrastructure. The eC3 for India might be constructed alongside gasoline variations at Stellantis’ manufacturing unit close to Chennai, which it operates in a three way partnership with CK Birla.
In keeping with information stories in India, the eC3 can have a 30 kilowatt-hour battery from China’s SVolt, which might be barely greater than the 26.8 kWh battery within the Dacia Spring. The Spring has a variety of 234 km on the WLTP blended cycle.
Wanting forward, fashions within the Sensible Automotive vary will even be constructed at Stellantis’ manufacturing unit in Kenitra, Morocco, which is able to see an funding of 300 million euros to double capability. The present Citroen C3 for Europe, which was launched in 2016, is constructed at Stellantis’ manufacturing unit in Trnava, Slovakia.