The company had, over a decade back, set up a venture with the Doshi family-owned Premier Automobiles in India but exited in 2001 following the failure of its lone model Peugeot 309 to generate interest among car buyers.

With the introduction of its models, the company will take the first step for a push into a market where it has been absent, which led to its missing out the boom over the last few years.
Rival Volkswagen, which is also the biggest carmaker in Europe, has already expanded in a big way in the Indian market with a Rs3,800 crore factory it started near Pune.

According to industry analysts, the company may settle for a location near Chennai, for its manufacturing operations, joining the likes of Ford, Nissan-Renault, BMW and Ashok Leyland, which are already invested in the region.

"Becoming more global" has been one of the company's strategic ambitions for which it has been working over the last three years. The Paris-based company's international sales are now increasingly focused on emerging markets in China, Russia and Latin America.