Bookings-led strategy debuts with Aircross X Max Turbo (5-seater) and C3 Live (O)
Chennai: In a move that feels less like traditional car manufacturing and more like a live Netflix recommendation engine, Citroën India has unveiled its new “Citroën 2.0” strategy—a customer-driven, bookings-led model that literally builds cars based on what people are asking for, not what warehouses are stuffed with.
At the core of this approach is a simple but powerful philosophy: listen → learn → launch. Instead of pushing inventory onto dealerships and hoping for the best, Citroën will now produce select variants only against confirmed customer bookings. In plain English, no demand, no production. It’s capitalism with better ears.
This demand-sensing model blends real-time retail data, digital sentiment and dealer feedback to fine-tune variant decisions. The result is faster product action, leaner operations and a lineup that evolves almost in sync with what customers are actually searching, clicking and complaining about online. For buyers, this also means clearer delivery timelines and fewer “sir next month maybe” conversations.
According to Kumar Priyesh, Business Head and Director, Automotive Brands, Stellantis India, the strategy is about staying agile in a market that changes faster than Instagram trends. He said the brand is focused on listening closely, acting quickly and building exactly what customers want, with the Aircross X Max Turbo (5-seater) and C3 Live (O) being the first real-world outcomes of this approach.
And these two launches are not just symbolic—they are very practical.
The Citroën Aircross X Max Turbo (5-seater) is aimed squarely at comfort lovers. By removing the third row and focusing on space where it actually matters, Citroën has managed to free up an additional 60 mm of knee room for rear passengers. Add to that a rear centre armrest with cupholders and a 3-step seat recline, and suddenly the second row feels more business class than budget airline. The SUV is offered in Polar White, Deep Forest Green and Perla Nera Black, paired with a premium Fauve Dark Brown interior that sounds as fancy as it looks.
Then there’s the C3 Live (O), which feels like Citroën looked at entry-level buyers and said, “Let’s not make them suffer.” This value-focused variant brings a bundle of 10+ tech and comfort features, including leatherette seats, a 10.1-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, built-in speakers, rearview camera, chrome-accented fog lamps, full wheel covers and body cladding with chrome inserts. It’s basically the kind of feature list that used to start at much higher price points, now neatly packed into a hatchback that still remembers its budget roots.
Both models will be available strictly on a bookings-only basis. The Aircross X Max Turbo (5-seater) starts at ₹12.41 lakh (MT, ex-showroom), while the C3 Live (O) comes in at an aggressive ₹5.49 lakh (ex-showroom).
In an industry where brands often guess what customers want and then spend years correcting those guesses, Citroën’s new approach feels refreshingly logical. Instead of launching ten variants and hoping three survive, the company is launching two and waiting for customers to decide the future.
In short, Citroën 2.0 is not just about selling cars—it’s about crowdsourcing the product plan, one booking at a time. And honestly, that might be the most modern thing a car brand has done in India in a while.
