Citroen is going to build an electric 2CV in the next two years that stays true to the concept car even if the European Union dithers on its promise to introduce a new category for cheap electric small cars.

At least that's what the company's CEO (below) promised at the Paris motor show. 

New Citroen 2CV: what will the production car look like?

It happens every time – a car company reveals an exciting new concept car like the Citroen 2CV at the Paris motor show and then when it comes to the actual production car it’s lost all the fun. 

But Citroen CEO Xavier Chardon is determined not to let that happen. When I sat down with him in Paris, Chardon was adamant that the car is going to be built and that it will be just as fun as the concept. 

“We’re going to build it – and the concept is very close to the real car,” he said. “There are a couple of items that are non-negotiable – the gearstick, the canvas roof, the headlights – either you do a 2CV or you don’t.”

Some of the fancy bits like the canvas roof will be saved for higher trim levels, but Chardon is determined that the uncluttered front and sense of fun will remain. It’s going to be built cheaply but not feel it, he insists. 

Why Citroën won't wait for the EU's cheap electric car rules

A lot of talk at the show was about how slow the EU has been in pulling together its mooted ‘e-car’ format, a cheaper regulatory class that was supposed to create a European answer to the kei car that would kickstart small electric vehicle sales. 

Chardon says he doesn’t have the time to wait for the politicians though: “If we want to have this car ready in two years, I cannot wait. We’re working to make this car available whatever the regulations – the 2CV will be compliant with the correct regulations. And the car we’ve presented, we want it to be able to drive at 130kph [French motorway speed limit] on a highway, it’s a real car.”

How the new Citroen 2CV will share its platform with Fiat

What’s created some confusion is that Stellantis is launching a new shared platform across its many brands that’s meant to cut the costs of supermini-sized EVs within the group. 

“We have to make a difference between the e-car Stellantis platform [that’s being developed with Leapmotor] and the future EU regulation that uses the same name,” explained Chardon. “Our two very important platforms for the future are e-car and STLA One.”

The platforms were launched earlier this year as Stellantis outlined its future model plans, and STLA One is going to be underneath almost every concept car revealed at the Paris show when they finally make it to production, from the new DS3 to the ninth-generation Astra that the Vauxhall STX concept hinted at. 

The e-car platform will underpin the new 2CV and the Fiat Koala, and possibly other as-yet unnamed models. A new Vauxhall Viva? The next Leapmotor T03? A reborn Alfa Mito? The possibilities could be endless. 

Citroen wants the new 2CV to keep things simple

The key thing in the first instance for Chardon and Citroen, though, is to keep things simple with the new Deux Chevaux.

“The philosophy of this car is to put in what is right, and nothing that’s superfluous,” he said. “I’m not interested in putting screens everywhere in this car. And by the way that counts for Citroen in general. You’ll never find a Citroen where you can take your iPad and start drifting the car, we’re not fastest from 0–60. I accept we won’t have 100% of the market, that’s fine.”