It’s official: Citroën will relaunch the iconic 2CV — with an electric car priced at less than R$15,000

The French brand will modernize the famous 2CV, with a new electric vehicle — an attempt to revive the threatened European market for affordable cars and return “purchasing power” to Europe, says the company’s CEO.

Citroën’s next electric car will have “exactly the same purpose as the 2CV had in the late 1940s: to reignite buyer demand in a stagnant European car market.

Last week, the CEO of the French brand, Xavier Chardonconfirmed that Citroën “I was working” in proposals for a new A-segment electric vehicle with price less than 15,000 eurosadvance to ,

According to Chardon, a model of this type would be “absolutely fundamental” to boost the brand’s market share, in a market where growth is being halted by continuous increase in the average price of new cars.

The French brand’s new city tram, which should be preceded by a concept car to be presented at the Paris Motor Show in October, will attempt to reincarnate the spirit of the iconic rural utility.

It will be cheap to make and cheap to buy, says Chardon, as part of an effort to return “purchasing power” to a large portion of the population — which was excluded from the new car market, particularly electric ones.

Car sales in Europe continue to fall far short from pre-pandemic levels, and the average age of the European car fleet is increasing quickly as more and more people keep their current vehicles instead of exchanging them to more expensive substitutes.

“The European market is the only one that has not recovered after Covid“, said Chardon. “The US recovered, China recovered, even South America recoveredand we continue to have three million fewer people buying new cars per year in Europe. I would say that 60% of this is due to the simple fact that no longer exist any cars below 15,000 euros“.

“It is a very sad story that the average age of cars has increased by more than 2 years in the last 5 years. We are now over 12 years old average in Europe. Therefore, it is necessary to motivate people to buy new cars, and they have to be affordable.”

Chardon compared the panorama of the European market with that of the late 1940s, when “people’s cars”, super affordable and utilitariansuch as the 2CV, the Fiat 500, the VW Beetle and the Austin Mini, helped revitalize the automotive industryand the economy in general, which had been devastated by World War II.

A Citroën solution for the modern erafaced with equally unfavorable commercial conditions, is a electric microcarwhich is being developed in line with future European light electric vehicle (E-car) legislation designed to make production of this type of car more profitable.

Being, in practice, a indirect replacement for the old Citroën C1 gasoline, the new model, which should reach the market within a few yearscould be one of the conventional-sized electric vehicles cheapest on the market — with a price several thousand euros below the ë-C3 itselfa utility that is already among the most accessible.

But even if it respects the philosophy and plays a role similar to that of the 2CV in this context, the new car will not necessarily be a tribute to its predecessor, nor will he be openly presented as a successor spiritual. “The most important thing is to understand the purpose of that car at the time,” Chardon said.

“The goal was to bring mobility to the massess after World War II, even though the project started earlier. The specifications requested that it transport four farmers under one roof and could carry 50 kg of potatoes”, recalls Chardon.

“I’m not sure that these specifications can translate 100% to today — especially since we have fewer and fewer farmers in Europe. But maybe you can replace the farmer with a nurse“, said the CEO, alluding to the growing importance of making cheap cars attractive to young professionals in urban areas.

“Mass ‘nostalgia pela nostalgia‘ is not a miracle solution. There are some examples very good, like the Mini or Fiat 500and most likely the Renault 5 will also join the club. But at the same time, we all have in mind many revivals that were not successful”, highlights Xavier Chardon.

But so and images of the new electric 2CV? Nothing? In fact, there are dozens of them on the internet. All fake, all AI. But to whet the appetite of those interested, we leave below a photo gallery of an electric 2CV — as reimagined by the Macedonian artist. It doesn’t look bad at all.