Automaker Citroen has commenced export of its vehicles from Kamarajar Port Ltd in Tamil Nadu, the company said on Friday. Chairman of Kamarajar Port Ltd Sunil Paliwal, along with senior company officials, flagged off the first batch of vehicles at an event.
In February, Citroen, which is a part of Stellantis Group, signed an MoU with Kamarajar Port, which is located 24 km north of Chennai Port in the city, for shipping out vehicles to the overseas market. Stellantis Group was formed by the merger of two global auto majors FCA and Groupe PSA.
PAIPL, the Indian affiliate of Citroen India, would be exporting ‘Made in India’ C3 B-hatch vehicles to countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Africa from the port. “In 2019, we started exporting powertrains from our Hosur facility and with the commencement of the New C3 exports as a CBU (completely built unit) this year, we are marking a key milestone in our India journey,” Stellantis India CEO and MD Roland Bouchara said.
According to Guy Lederer, head of supply chain and logistics for India, Asia Pacific at Stellantis, “Kamarajar Port meets all of Citroen’s requirements to export vehicles from India as part of its internationalisation strategy.” The facility would be used to export Made-in-India Citroen vehicles from the smart car platform to the world, he said.