Made-in-India Citroen C3 SUV spotted for the first time; check details

French-automaker Citroen has been spotted testing its made-in-India compact SUV ‘Citroen C3’, which is likely to be in near production form. The homemade Citroen C3 looks identical to the company’s global model that made its debut last September.

Interestingly, the vehicle is right-hand drive (RHD), which confirms that it is a made-in-India unit as the Citroen’s Indian factory is expected to be the mother plant for RHD versions, similar to all left-hand drive models which are built in Brazil.

The upcoming vehicle was spotted in dual-tone white and black exterior colour shade. The Citroen C3 was seen featuring two slats of the chrome grille, LED DRLs, and the split headlamp clusters. Citroen has kept the rest of the car fairly simple and has provided roof rails, plastic cladding, and conventional-type door handles.

The model spotted also has a few chrome elements – around the front turn signals, on the rear reflectors, and on the tailgate. Citroen might have included this just for the Indian version. The car, which was spotted testing, was running on steel wheels, instead of alloys, and was missing the plastic cladding on the lower part of the doors.

However, this might be possibly due to the spotted vehicle being mid-spec variant. Other than the differences mentioned above, the new Citroen C3 spotted in India looks largely identical to the global version.

The images didn’t reveal any details about the homemade version of Citroen C3’s interior. However, the compact SUV is likely to get a 10-inch touchscreen that will feature Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. The C3 also gets a three-spoke steering wheel and a digital instrument cluster.

Citroen C3 for India, is based on the CMP modular platform and has been heavily localised for India with over 90 per cent components being sourced locally, is expected to come with a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine. Transmission options are likely to include a 5-speed manual and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic as an option.

The Citroen C3’s expected India launch is likely to be announced in few months and the company is also expected to position the C3 quite aggressively in the sub-4m SUV segment. The Citroen C3 is likely to go up against the likes of Tata Punch, Maruti Suzuki Ignis, Renault Kiger, Nissan Magnite, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.