2028 Citroën 2CV: electric second-coming is confirmed to start at under £15k
We also speak to Citroën's CEO about what compromises we could expect...
On sale 2028 Price from £15,000
It could be said that France has had two revolutions over the last few centuries. The first happened in the late 1700s, and resulted in a huge political and societal shift that rewrote the nation’s class system. The second is happening at this very moment.
You see, over the last few years, French manufacturers have played a huge part in making electric cars a more accessible and attractive proposition for customers. The Renault 4 and 5, plus the Twingo, are testament to that. Peugeot, meanwhile, has just launched the e-208 GTi – the fastest electric hot hatch in its segment. But there is a very real argument that none of these has been – or will be – as important as this: the reborn Citroën 2CV.
The electric city car will enter production in 2028, with Citroën CEO, Xavier Chardon, confirming to What Car? that it will be priced at under £15,000 – and that’s without the electric car grant included. Competitors in this price range will include the Dacia New Spring – which is based on the Twingo – as well as the Leapmotor T03, neither of which are currently eligible for the grant, which applies discounts of £1500 or £3750 off the price of eligible EVs.
The new 2CV will be built on new ‘ECAR’ underpinnings that form the basis of the next-generation of small, cheap EVs from Stellantis. In fact, it will even be shorter than its predecessor at 3.7 metres in length. We’ve no indications on specs just yet, but Chardon said the price has forced a ‘trade-off’ with battery range, among other things.
“We have to make compromises if we want this car to be affordable,” said Chardon. “It won’t be the fastest to accelerate, but it will be enjoyable. It won’t have screens everywhere, but that’s OK – most people use 10% of a smartphone’s potential, so why should we include the 90% that people are not using?”
We can expect a small, squarish infotainment screen, but rather than cramming all the functions within it, Citroën hinted there will be a trio of buttons beneath for key functions such as the audio volume and air conditioning. There will likely be a return to the monospoke (or single spoke) steering wheel too, with further costs cut by offering a manually-operated canvas roof, instead of an electric one.
Chardon confirmed rapid DC charging will be optional on the entry-level version to further help achieve the sub-£15k price.
He said: “The brief of the original 2CV was to democratise mobility. It put people on wheels both inside and outside of France, and it could do that because it concentrated on the single benefits for users, and took away the superfluous. It is the same philosophy that we are applying to the new 2CV.”
More good news comes by way of model diversification: Citroën will offer a ‘Fourgonnette’ (breadvan) and perhaps even an off-road version if the demand is there, leaning further into the 2CV’s heritage as a do-it-all vehicle.
The full reveal will happen at the Paris motor show this October, with production set to take place at Stellantis’ plant in Pomigliano, Italy. There, it will be built alongside other E-Car products, such as the upcoming Fiat Panda revival, and become Citroën’s new entry-point (excluding the Ami quadricycle).
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