Last February, Citroën presented the first electric C3, a special version for India and which had the heavy responsibility of launching the brand's offensive in this segment. A few months after its marketing, the brand new ëC3 seems to find its audience since it allows Citroën to enter the Top 5 of this segment.
The Indian car market is expected to become increasingly large to be one of the main world markets in the short term. In this market, despite a lower level of income, electric vehicles are being deployed strongly and manufacturers are rushing to be present to take advantage of the growing cake.
This is the case of Citroën which, barely six months after the commercialization of internal combustion versions, launched the ëC3, the brand's very first electric car in India and the first electric C3. And the brand seems to have got it right since sales of electric cars recorded a growth of 151.36% in volume in May to reach 7,443 units, thus representing nearly 2.5% of the total market in India.
So, of course, all this has a major downside: it is that this market for electric vehicles is very, very largely held by Tata, which leaves the competition extremely far behind since the Indian brand has no less than 78% market share. market, which is to say that the other competitors share the crumbs. Citroën is therefore very far from Tata with its 309 units sold and its 4.15% of the market but, excluding Tata, the double chevron brand is defending itself rather well against MG (442 units) and Mahindra (365 units) which are, respectively, second and third in the market.
Above all, the share of sales of electric Citroëns in India is significant compared to its total production since the brand manufactured some 830 units in May 2023, a fairly low figure it must be admitted, but with a share of electric cars representing more than 37%, a sign that the brand has done well to quickly offer such an electric version in the C3 catalog.
In conclusion, we shouldn't draw hasty conclusions and this fourth place in the standings must still be confirmed in the coming months to see if the reception received by the ë-C3 holds up over time. Still, this score actually shows that the brand was right to offer an electric version quickly, a good strategic choice that allows it to be among the best sellers in this market, which is still very small but has great potential in the future. the image of the growth it has shown since the beginning of the year.