Citroën will showcase its future design and brand direction in December.
New CEO Xavier Chardon will use an event in Paris to outline his vision for Citroën and to address observations that the brand is currently lacking clarity.
Speaking for the first time since rejoining Citroën from the Volkswagen Group in the summer, Chardon accepted there is confusion around the brand but insisted it is still able to innovate.
Separately to the December event, Chardon has continued with the project that seeks to revive a model in the spirit of the 2CV, which Citroën executives have been hinting at this year.
He said the 2CV is “a part of French culture” and he is well read on the history of the model and its original purpose to democratise cars for people with limited buying power. He said it is “my duty to take this brief to 2025, 2026 because it’s super-important to make individual mobility affordable again”.
The “DNA and spirit” of the 2CV is something “we want to inject into our future cars”, he said.
It is too early to speak of the timing for such a car or cars with this ethos, said Chardon, and the project is as much about a mantra and approach to making a new model as a retro-inspired recreation of the original, because the 2CV’s shape came about for functional reasons that may not be relevant today.
“It was the first experience of having access to individual mobility and freedom. This is the kind of freedom we have to reinvent from 2026-2030,” he said.
When asked if these areas will be topics at the December event, Chardon said: “Some of them, yes. Maybe not all of them.” Autocar understands there will not be a 2CV-inspired model this year.
More broadly, Chardon didn’t say how many models Citroën’s range will offer. He cited Tesla as showing you can have success with just two, so instead it is about having “the right shape, the right answer” and ensuring “it’s clear to people”. The brand’s core offerings will, however, remain in the B- and C-segments.
When asked if the new Fiat Grande Panda shows greater character and is bolder in its approach than its Citroën C3 platform twin, Chardon said the two models have different purposes and approaches. The Fiat “has maybe better connection to its DNA” while the Citroën is more focused on space and comfort. He added: “Offering this space is super-important for us.”
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Stellantis need to stop with the boring, mediocre British Leyland badge engineering approach. Get rid of some weak brands like Vauxhall, DS, Jeep and allow the remaining brands more leeway in individual platforms, engines etc.
Renault seems to do a decent job with Nissan, Dacia , Alpine and Renault.
Bold revamp but just the same old Stellantis dog shit underneath. If this company and many others hobbled by dog shit Stellantis engineering lasts another 5 years in the uk, it'll be a miracle.
The Stellantis cars we've owned recently (Alfa, Citroen, Peugeot) have been far more reliable and cheaper to run than the VWs and Mercedes that preceded them. I judge by experience not prejudice.