French carmaker Citroen is planning a new version of the famed 2CV, 36 years after the original was dropped—but the new version will be electric. CEO Xavier Chardon told reporters last week that “The 2CV is back! Citroen is back. Back to the future.”
Ironically, the announcement was made in Detroit, at an investor day sponsored by Stellantis, which also owns Fiat, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and several other brands.
Chardon showed a mock-up of the new car, which will debut at the Paris auto show in October; it appears that the work has been done on the inside, with the car keeping its classic body.
A key feature also carried over from the original: it will be a low-priced vehicle intended to be widely-affordable, with a price that is promised to be under €15,000. Chardon said “It’s a very important moment, because in 1948 the 2CV gave freedom of mobility to millions, and 80 years later, the new 2CV will democratizse electric mobility… the future of mobility will not be won by the most complex cars, but by the simplest and most intuitive ones,” in what may be a shot at Tesla and other high-end competitors.
Regular readers of TravelGumbo won’t be surprised to learn that several of the TG regulars are long-time fans of Citroen’s classic economy car that brought rural France into the auto age after World War II. We’ve featured it often as we’ve spotted it; the title image appeared in our pages in 2019.
Like the Model T and the Volkswagen Beetle, the 2CV had a long run; over 3.8 million were sold between 1948 and 1990, and many are still on the road.
