Return of the Peugeot: Company begins testing in India ahead of its re-entry

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (Groupe PSA), erstwhile Peugeot, earlier this year announced its re-entry into the Indian market in association with New Delhi-based CK Birla Group and reaffirmed its plans with the acquisition of the legendary Hindustan Ambassador in February 2017.

Although Peugeot exited India in 1997, it did not rule out its comeback and has been eyeing a return in the recent past. The decks have now been cleared with the carmaker expected to mark its re-entry before 2020. Way ahead of the return, the company has started testing its vehicles on the Indian roads.

AutocarIndia reports that Peugeot has already put on the road three of its models destined for India – the 3008, the 2008 crossovers, and 208 hatchback. Out of the three, two models are due for an update next year and it remains unclear whether the currently tested models are for the Indian market. The testing could also be part of the company's process of analysing road conditions before finalising on the models for the Indian market.

In the recent past, Overdrive has also reported the spotting of Peugeot 208 on test ride. Aside, it is not clear if the spotted Peugeot 208 is a customer import or here for the data collection. Whatever it may be, the sighting is a clear indication that the work on the carmaker's re-entry is progressing at a rapid pace. Peugeot 208 is powered by a three-cylinder engine under the hood as it had a PureTech badge.

The French carmaker was one of the early birds in India when the country's economy opened up for foreign investments in the 1990s. At that time, Peugeot had entered into a partnership with Premier Automobiles in 1994 and offered the 309 sedan. However, the partnership ran into rough roads with labour issues at the heart of the discomfiture and Peugeot was forced to wind up its operations in the country in 1997.

Source: ACI