Citroën plans to unveil a concept car previewing a fully electric successor to the original 2CV on October 11, 2026, at 7 p.m., with public viewing starting the next day as the Mondial de l'Automobile opens in Paris, according to French outlet automobile-propre.com and the show's own organiser, mondial.paris. The production model is expected to reach dealerships in 2028.
Why now
The project was first announced on May 21, 2026, during a Stellantis Investor Day, as part of the automaker's FaSTLAne 2030 plan, a five-year strategy involving more than 60 billion euros in investment, according to mondial.paris. The announcement followed a difficult year for the group: Stellantis reported a net loss of 22.3 billion euros for fiscal year 2025, driven largely by about 25.4 billion euros in full-year unusual charges, which the company's SEC filing links to resetting its product plan and EV supply chain, North American platform impairments, and the discontinuation of its hydrogen fuel-cell program.
Design: nods to the original without copying it
According to automobile-propre.com, early images show design cues referencing the 1948 original, including reworked door handles, full side windows ("custode pleine"), a ridged hood pattern echoing the classic car's bonnet, and separate headlights mounted on the fenders with a slightly flattened top edge. English-language outlet go-electra.com describes Citroën's approach as a tribute to the original's spirit rather than a literal copy, reporting that the brand intends to avoid both a direct copy of the 1948 silhouette and fake corrugated-metal body panels.
What is confirmed, what is not
Citroën has publicly committed to a base price under €15,000 before any government incentives, undercutting its current entry-level EV, the ë-C3, which starts at €20,390, according to automobile-propre.com. Mondial.paris reports the car will be built on a new platform called E-Car, combining electric technology from Stellantis's Chinese partner Leapmotor with lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells, and will be manufactured at the Pomigliano d'Arco plant in Italy, which already produces the Fiat Panda.
Several figures remain unconfirmed ahead of the October reveal. Go-electra.com states that Citroën has not communicated the range, power output, battery capacity or exact price. Some outlets have cited a possible 30 kWh battery and over 250 km of WLTP range, but these figures have not been confirmed directly by Citroën in the sources reviewed for this article.
A shared platform across Stellantis brands
Automobile-propre.com reports that the underlying architecture is shared across Stellantis brands, with Fiat simultaneously developing an electric successor to the Panda on related underpinnings — an arrangement that may impose common design and engineering constraints on both vehicles.
Leadership context
Citroën's current chief executive, Xavier Chardon, took over the brand on June 2, 2025, succeeding Thierry Koskas, according to industry outlet just-auto.com. Chardon previously served as CEO of Volkswagen Group France and had earlier held several leadership roles at Citroën, including managing director of its French operations.
The original 2CV
The first Citroën 2CV debuted at the Paris Salon on October 7, 1948, and stayed in production until 1990. About 3.87 million saloon units were built, with total A-Series output — including vans and other variants — exceeding 9.2 million vehicles, according to its English Wikipedia entry. Citroën vice-president Pierre Boulanger set the brief that the car be simple and rugged enough to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking them; the car was engineered by André Lefèbvre and styled by Flaminio Bertoni, per the same source.
- Concept reveal: October 11, 2026, 7 p.m., ahead of the Paris Motor Show
- Public show dates: October 12–18, 2026, Porte de Versailles, Hall 6
- Target base price: under €15,000, before incentives
- Planned production start: 2028, at Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy
- Platform: E-Car, reportedly combining Leapmotor tech with LFP batteries
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