The third of the four Citroen cars and SUVs to be launched in India, the electric avatar of the C3 hatchback is seeing growing demand. Between March and June 2024, the e-C3 has received bulk orders from EV fleet operators Blusmart, OHM E Logistics and Cab-E.
14 Jun 2024 | 11508 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Citroen India, which launched the eC3, the electric avatar of the ICE-engined C3 hatchback on February 27, 2023, has till end-May 2024 sold an estimated 3,451 units in the domestic market. And over the past three months, the company has bagged orders for an additional 7,000 units of the zero-emission ...
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Citroen India, which launched the eC3, the electric avatar of the ICE-engined C3 hatchback on February 27, 2023, has till end-May 2024 sold an estimated 3,451 units in the domestic market. And over the past three months, the company has bagged orders for an additional 7,000 units of the zero-emission vehicle, for which initial deliveries have been made.
Delving into Citroen India's wholesales data reveals that the e-C3 sold 1,101 units in FY2023, and went to register 86% growth in FY2024 (2,055 units). The company has dispatched 295 units in the first two months of FY2025 but given the 7,000-plus confirmed fleet orders it has in hand, expect FY2025 to be a record year for the eC3, and in turn for the company.
Interestingly, the Citroen e-C3 is priced at a premium over the Tata Tiago EV – the base model e-C3 at Rs 13.48 lakh costs Rs 405,000 more than the Tiago EV base variant priced at Rs 943,000 (on-road Delhi). EV-to-EV, the e-C3 is larger and benefits from a nicer and larger touchscreen albeit the Tiago EV is also a five-seater and has a far better spec sheet.
Compared to its petrol-engined C3 sibling which has three variants (Live, Feel and Shine), the eC3 EV is also offered in two variants – Feel and Shine, priced at Rs 13.48 lakh and Rs 13.95 lakh respectively. The features, too, are similar to the petrol model with the higher-spec Feel getting a 10.2-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four-speaker audio system and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.
The eC3 additionally gets connected car tech courtesy the MyCitroen Connect app. It has 35 smart features that enable a check of the EV’s charging status, its location, driving behaviour and the location of the nearest charging station. On the safety features front, the e-C3 gets dual airbags and ABS with EBD.
Citroen e-C3 powertrain delivers 320km range
The Citroen eC3 gets a 29.2kWh battery pack, which powers the front axle-mounted electric motor that makes 57hp and 143Nm of peak torque. With this power, the eC3 can accelerate from 0-60 kph in a claimed 6.8 seconds and achieve a top-speed of 107kph. The Citroen eC3 also gets two driving modes – Eco and Standard – along with regenerative braking.
The Citroen eC3 has an ARAI-claimed range of 320km, and it gets two charging options. The first is a DC fast charger that can charge the battery pack from 10-80 percent in a claimed 57 minutes, and the second is a 3.3kW onboard AC charger that is also capable of CCS2 fast charging. The eC3 can also be topped up with the help of a home charger and it requires 10.5 hours to juice up from 10-100 percent.
In April 2024, Citroen India became the first multinational carmaker in India to export a made-in-India EV when it flagged off a shipment of 500 e-C3s to Indonesia from Kamarajar Port. Shipments to other ASEAN markets as well as Africa have also begun.
Over 7,000 e-C3 bookings in hand from EV fleet providers
Citroen India has a ‘problem of plenty’ when it comes to the e-C3, thanks to confirmed business contracts from fleet and logistics providers in India. On March 18, the company signed an MoU with Blusmart, the e-mobility ride hailing service and EV charging infrastructure network, for delivery of 4,000 e-C3s over a 12-month period.
Two more MoUs followed, adding volumes of another 3,000 units. On May 16, Citroen India signed an MoU with OHM E Logistics to supply 1,000 e-C3 EVs for zero-emission shared mobility services in a phased manner. The first fleet induction phase involves the delivery of 120 EVs in Hyderabad.
A month later, on June 10, Citroen India signed an MoU with e-mobility fleet provider Cab-Eez Infra Tech to introduce over 2,000 e-C3 EVs over the year in Cab-E’s fleet in the Mumbai and Pune region. The first 100 units of this contract have been supplied and take the total e-C3 fleet operating on the Cab-E platform to over 300 units across Mumbai and Pune.
Citroen India’s cumulative sales cross 19,000 units since market entry
Since its entry in India three years ago, Citroen has introduced four models in the market, beginning with the premium C5 Aircross SUV. The company rolls out its cars and SUVs from the PCA Motors plant in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. PCA Motors is a joint venture between the the then-PSA Group (now merged into Stellantis) and India’s CK Birla Group.
Between April 2022 and end-May 2024, as per SIAM data of wholesales in the domestic market, Citroen India has sold a total of 19,123 units (see data table above). While the two C3 models (petrol and electric) have together sold 15,988 units, the two midsize SUVs (C5 Aircross C5 and C3 Aircross) have sold 3,135 units.
Of the four products in the market, the petrol-engined C3 hatchback is the highest seller with 12,537 units and accounts for 65% of total Citroen India sales till end-May 2024. Its all-electric sibling eC3 is the next highest-selling model with 3,451 units while the C3 Aircross SUV has clocked 2,002 units in just nine months after launch in September 2023. The company’s first product – the C5 Aircross SUV – is ranked fourth with 1,133 units.
Citroen is keen to rev up sales. In February, the company announced plans to offer six airbags as standard on all its models from the second half of 2024 and also automatic climate control. Currently, apart from the C5 Aircross, all the other three models come equipped with just two airbags even in their top-spec guise.
The company has outlined a new gameplan designed to drive the Citroen brand into India's booming mainstream passenger vehicle market. This involves a restructure of its top management, upgrading its products with more features, enhanced marketing budgets and a strategic goal to more than double Citroen India's sales to over 2,500 units a month. An aggressive sales and service network expansion programme will see it increase the number of outlets from the existing 58 by nearly 250% to 200 outlets in the next 12 months, many of them in the Tier 2, 3 and 4 markets.
(With inputs from Mayank Dhingra)
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