The two-cylinder legend that put post-war France on wheels is set to return and Citroën has confirmed it will bring back the 2CV, more than three decades after the original chugged its last. The new model is not a retro exercise but a clean-sheet electric vehicle aimed at a generation grappling with steep living costs and tightening urban emissions rules.
“Reinventing the 2CV of tomorrow is a huge challenge and responsibility,” says Xavier Chardon, CEO of Citroën, speaking recently at the Stellantis plant in Poissy. “The original 2CV was never created to become an icon. It became one because it gave people freedom. The new 2CV will carry that same spirit forward — not through nostalgia, but by reinventing its simplicity and accessibility for today’s world. Electric. Essential. Affordable. Human.”
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Chardon’s comments came as Stellantis unveiled its €60-billion FaSTLAne 2030 strategic plan to investors. The return of the 2CV forms part of a broader push to expand Citroën’s lineup with affordable small electric vehicles, designed to navigate new low-emission zones in European cities while keeping monthly repayments within reach of ordinary households.
The original 2CV, launched in 1948, was born from the TPV – Très Petite Voiture – brief: a low-cost, rugged people’s car that could carry a farmer’s eggs across a ploughed field without breaking them. Citroën says the new model will follow the same philosophy, focusing on lightweight design, practicality and a distinctive character rather than digital gimmicks or premium finishes.
Before the new 2CV lands in showrooms, Citroën points to the ë-C3 – particularly its urban-range version – as a present-day answer to accessible electric mobility.
Meanwhile, Stellantis expects its financial services arm to play a larger role in making such vehicles attainable. The group’s captive finance units already manage more than €85-billion in net receivables globally, with a target contribution of over €1,5-billion in adjusted operating income by 2030.
Under FaSTLAne 2030, Stellantis aims to grow revenue from €154-billion in 2025 to €190- billion by the end of the decade, with an adjusted operating margin of 7%. The company also targets €6-billion in industrial free cash flow by 2030 and a cost reduction run-rate of €6-billion by 2028, driven by its Value Creation Programme.
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For South African buyers, any local arrival would likely depend on right-hand-drive production schedules and import pricing, but Citroën’s local arm has previously shown appetite for niche heritage models. Whether the new 2CV can repeat the original’s trick of turning frugality into freedom remains to be seen.
But as Chardon put it: “The return of the 2CV is not simply the return of a legendary name. It is the return of a bold and optimistic idea of progress. A profoundly Citroën idea.”
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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