Six months after its commercialisation in thermal engines, the new Citroën C3 therefore offers a new electric engine in India, allowing the brand to offer an electric car, habitable, comfortable and accessible. But while one could expect that the C3 will also be offered in electric motor in Latin America, Citroën has just put an end to speculation.
With its C-Cubed programme, Citroën is demonstrating its desire to strengthen its presence on markets outside Europe or by conquering new markets such as India, which is set to become the new automotive Eldorado. Citroën therefore offers the same models in India as in Latin America, even if these models are specific to their markets, with engines or equipment that cannot be found everywhere. For example, the C3 in Latin America has automatic air conditioning, a rear windscreen wiper and even a reversing camera, all of which are not available in India.
However, in its desire to electrify its range all over the world, we would have thought that an electric version of this new C3 would also be offered, especially in Brazil and Argentina, where Citroën also claims to be studying the marketing of 'FRIEND'. But the brand has just put an end to these ideas, as Citroën claims that the new ë-C3 is a version specific to India, making it clear in half-words that it will not be offered on the South American markets. .
This decision may seem surprising since there are already electric vehicles in the C3 segment in Brazil and other brands are preparing their arrival, such as Renault, which will offer the Spring on the Brazilian market. But the technical specifications of the Indian ë-C3 seem too low to be able to meet the needs of Brazilian customers, it must be said that the maximum speed limited to 107 km/h can be problematic in Latin America, where the roads are more bumpy than 'in India.
In conclusion, the new C3 will not soon arrive in Argentina in an electric version and, in any case, will not adopt the technical specifications of this Indian ë-C3, which seems too below market expectations, especially in Brazil. However, the platform used by the C3 allows for an electric motorisation which could very well arrive on the Latin American markets when they are ready and when the technical characteristics are at the right level.