Stellantis, the parent group of Citroen and Jeep in India, is targeting to halve its vehicle development time and ramp up localisation for certain models in the country. The automaker is planning this strategy as it prepares to launch 12 products across Citroen and Jeep brands under its FaSTLAne 2030 roadmap. This strategy for the Indian market also aligns with the company’s global product development strategy.
Stellantis India MD and CEO Shailesh Hazela told PTI the company announced that its global ambition is to cut down the product development time for bringing new vehicles from 48 months to close to two years, which is around 24 months. “That is what we are working on for our products, which we are going to launch,” Hazela said, while adding, “Our India engineering centre is part of the four large tech centres in the world. We have the largest tech centre, and they develop cars not only for Jeep and Citroen, but for models globally. So they have the same mandate (cut in product development time) which they will be following.”
Stellantis has a software and technology centre in Bengaluru. Also, Stellantis India has a long-standing partnership with Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle (TMPV) for manufacturing through a joint venture. Recently, the two companies signed a definitive agreement to expand the scope of their partnership into advanced technology and product collaboration. Both the companies plan to jointly develop vehicles for more than 50 global markets and manufacture them in India at Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited, the 50:50 joint venture between Tata Motors and Stellantis.
Speaking on localisation, Hazela said Citroen’s localisation level in India is currently in the range of 90-95%, while Jeep’s localisation stands at around 70-75%. “We are working on a foundation which is local engineering and local supply chain to get localisation of 90% plus in our products here. That gives us flexibility to be in the pricing range that the market expects,” he said.
Meanwhile, Stellantis India has announced an investment of ₹4,000 crore over the next three years as it prepares to launch 12 models, including seven new, across Citroen and Jeep brands. The investment will be mainly in products and localisation for customer experience. Jeep currently has four models in India – Compass, Wrangler, Meridian and Grand Cherokee. On the other hand, Citroen also has four models – C3, BasaltX, AircrossX, C5 Aircross.
Of the new products planned, Jeep will get four new models – one SUV each in the B, C and D segments, along with a D-segment pickup. On the other hand, Citroen will get three new models — one C-segment SUV, a D-segment MPV and one A-segment car.