Citroen has revived the 2CV badge on an electric city car shown at the Paris Motor Show, as the French manufacturer works to increase electric vehicle sales in a challenging market.
The new model is a compact urban runabout whose retro styling echoes one of the company’s best-known designs. It has been presented as a concept car intended to signal Citroen’s direction of travel, meaning it is not yet ready to go on sale, although the plan is to have a version in showrooms by 2028.
The small electric city car is expected to sell for less than £15,000.
Citroen chief executive Xavier Chardon described the vehicle as “a modern, ingenious and refreshing response to the mobility challenges of tomorrow”.
By returning to the nameplate, Citroen is joining other European manufacturers that are leaning on their heritage to sell modern cars while facing mounting competition from Chinese rivals.
The original 2CV was launched in 1948, when Europe was still recovering from the ravages of World War Two. It was designed as a cheap and robust way for French farmers and country people to get around.
Its high wheel arches and soft suspension let it cross a ploughed field or rough roads — a feat legend describes as being managed without breaking a tray of duck eggs. A high roof allowed the driver to wear a hat at the wheel, and the car was easy to drive and simple to repair.
Demand kept the model in production for more than 40 years. Over that time it shifted from a utilitarian tool for the countryside into a cult classic, and a favourite of hippies and counter-culturalists. Fans still stage annual meet-ups, including a muddy gathering in Switzerland.
Citroen wants to draw on that heritage to sell an electric small city car. The look of the new 2CV may well evolve as the company develops its design, but as it stands the car shares plenty of styling features with its famous predecessor: high, flared wheel arches, a tall, curved roof and eye-like headlights are all reminders of the original “deux chevaux”, or “two horses”.
Using memories of an old car to sell a new one is a well-travelled road. VW notoriously brought back the Beetle in the late 1990s with limited success, BMW’s Minis have always carried styling that harks back to the very British original, and Fiat has been selling a retro-styled 500 for the past two decades.
The retro-nostalgia trend has accelerated recently, as carmakers look for ways to sell electric cars to sceptical consumers. Renault, Citroen’s French rival, has led the charge, starting with the Renault 5 E-Tech, whose boxy styling visually echoed the original Renault 5, and since reviving the Renault 4 and Twingo brands as well. Volkswagen has the distinctive ID-Buzz minivan, a throwback to the classic T2 Transporter, while Ford is working on a new EV widely expected to be called the Fiesta.
Rachel Burgess, senior editor of Autocar magazine, said the strategy made perfect sense. “It’s a brilliant differentiator from all-new car brands,” she said. “An older audience might remember the originals and feel warmly towards them, and a younger audience might find an appeal in the retro aspect.”
Finding new ways to make cars appealing has become more important than ever, at a time when European manufacturers face growing competition from Chinese brands. David Leggett, automotive editor at Global Data, said many in the industry believed the big automotive players in Europe faced “a very serious existential threat from aggressive Chinese manufacturers”.
Automotive researcher and author Dr Paul Nieuwenhuis argued that heritage and nostalgia could prove to be powerful weapons for more established brands. “In a world where a wave of credible decent quality Chinese EVs are hitting Europe, linking European designs back to their history while using the latest powertrain technology is something the Chinese cannot do,” he said. “The Chinese can establish new design trends, but there is limited history there.”
Leggett, however, cautioned that Citroen would need more than a heady whiff of nostalgia to turn its new car into a best-seller. “A reimagined Citroën 2CV should give a big nod to its ancestor — especially on price and design simplicity as well as visual cues,” he said. “But it also needs to be a credible modern electric car in terms of functionality and features, with widespread appeal.”
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