Thursday, December 22, 2011
By Shilpa Chopra
Peugeot Citroen to invade India again, this time with Peugeot 508
The prominent French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen will commence its second innings in the Indian automotive sector shortly. It has recently stated to invest Rs 4,000 in its inaugural project in India and is gearing up to introduce its sedan Peugeot 508 in the country. The elite sedan is sure to be showcased by the company at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. Peugeot 508 is expected to be launched in India in the first quarter of next year and will initially be made available in both petrol as well as diesel powered engine. The vehicle will be primarily imported as Completely Built Unit (CBU) and will carry a price tag of Rs 20 Lakh plus. It will be fighting for space with Volkswagen Passat, Skoda Superb and Honda Accord.
PSA Peugeot Citroen has earlier made its foray in India with its Peugeot 309 sedans that it manufactured from 1985 to 1993, but the boxy-looking car was not able to create any impression on the consumers in the country and was discontinued. Now, it will bang the Indian doors with its much promising product in the form of full-sized family sedan Peugeot 508 that was first unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in the year 2010. This year the sleek beauty Peugeot 508 was launched in the Chinese auto market where the consumers welcomed the car with great enthusiasm.
The company will start its India sales with D+ segment vehicle Peugeot 508 followed by the launch of compact sedans that will be able to compete with the likes of Skoda Rapid, Volkswagen Vento and Hyundai Verna Fluidic.
The France based firm’s manufacturing unit is based in Sanand, Gujarat and it will start rolling out vehicles by 2014. Until then, it will import the vehicles in the country and will try putting its efforts to make its dealership network strong across the nation. The Sanand plant has a huge space of over 600 acres of land and has the capacity to produce 1, 70,000 vehicles.
