Citroen 2CV and different iconic fashions from the French model’s previous are set to be reborn as retro EVs
The legendary Citroen 2CV is set to return as a 21st century electric car, the boss of the French firm has signalled.
Citroen’s global chief executive Thierry Koskas said it will have the key virtues which made the original 2CV such a favourite first time around: simplicity, daring, comfort through clever suspension designed to deal with rough roads, practicality, value for money and – important in the modern era – strong green credentials.
Customers can expect to see a model on the market within two years – from 2027, he indicated.
Speaking at the UK launch in Oxfordshire of Citroen’s latest model – the e-C3 electric hatchback – Koskas said a small number of retro Citroen models upgraded for modern motoring were planned to follow in the wake of the current revamp of the entire range.
‘We want some of our iconic models to further lift the Citroen brand,’ he told This is Money.
‘We have a fantastic heritage – including models like the DS and the 2CV.’
Could the iconic Citroen 2CV be making a comeback as an EV? The boss at the French car maker has hinted to This is Money that it is…
Pressed directly on whether the 2CV was returning, he replied teasingly but with a broad smile that indicated clearly that it certainly was: ’We don’t exclude that we will use this heritage.’
He added: ’You can go anywhere in the world – even to Brazil – and you will find people who know the 2CV.’
Koskas, who began his own automotive career selling cars at a docklands dealership in East London in the late 1990s, said small number of ‘retro-design’ models were planned – but it would not be ‘systematic’ across the Citroen range.
The swooping Citroen DS model from the mid 1950s to ‘70s is another retro design that could return.
The move follows the success of French arch-rivals Renault who’s retro-inspired Renault 5 E-Tech looks set to become a massive hit and has being crowned European Car of the Year among a host of awards.
Further tapping into the brand’s heritage, Renault has confirmed a tuned-up 5 Turbo 3E from 2027; an all-electric ‘mini supercar’ built in limited numbers and costing in the region of £200k paying homage to the legendary hot hatch and rally car of the 1980s. Just try to overlook the fact it will use a turbo nameplate on an EV.
A new Renault 4 is also following this year, which is a modern twist on the original.
Given the 2CV’s reputation for value for money, it is likely bosses would seek to maintain an affordable and ‘popular’ price – and edge it under £20,000 – undercutting the rival Renault 5.
A retro electric car inspired by the 2CV could be on sale as early as 2027, it’s been hinted
Citroen’s global chief executive Thierry Koskas (right) told the Daily Mail’s Ray Massey: ‘We want some of our iconic models to further lift the Citroen brand. We have a fantastic heritage – including models like the DS and the 2CV’
Renault is enjoying great success having reimagined its iconic original 5 (left) as an all-electric supermini (right). It will also sell a retro-inspired Renault 4 from later this year
Koskas said you can go anywhere in the world – even to Brazil – and you will find people who know the 2CV, such is its legendary status
2CVs electric return: Will it, won’t it?
Reports earlier this year reignited suggestions that the Saint-Ouen manufacturer would relaunch the 2CV name, hinting that it is already in the early stages of working on a 21st century version of arguably the most iconic French car of all time.
A senior source told Autocar in January that preliminary design work on a successor to the ‘Deux Chevaux’ is underway as Citroen looks to join the car brands bringing legacy models back for the modern era.
This is despite very recent claims by Citroen big wigs, including Koskas himself, that the 2CV would not be making a comeback.
He told Auto Express at the beginning of 2025 that there are ‘no specific projects’ focused around a reimagined 2CV, instead opting to double down on ‘different’ and ‘more affordable’ family cars.
The brand told Top Gear in 2019 and again in 2021 it had no intention of reintroducing the 2CV nameplate.
‘We evolve our designs by looking at the past but what I don’t want to do is become a manufacturer that produces retro,’ former Citroen boss – and now Peugeot CEO – Linda Jackson told the motoring magazine some six year ago.
‘I’m not going to produce a new 2CV. That had its time, it was right, but it’s about finding out the next design that’ll be right for the customer.’
Former Citroen boss Vincent Cobée reiterated these sentiments just two years later.
In an interview he said that while it is a ‘privilege and honour’ to have ‘massive heritage’ it doesn’t mean ‘that the past answers are the right answers for the future.’ He added: ‘There’s a difference between character and solution.’
The 2CV was originally penned in 1936 but its emergence on the market was delayed until post-war. It was designed to enable a farmer and family to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs without breaking them
Prototypes of the original 2CV were hidden away during WW2 before 9million were sold between 1948 and 1990
Many 2CVs were built in Britain, at Citroen’s former factory n Slough, during the 1950s
Designed pre-war to enable a farmer and family to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs without breaking them, prototypes of the original 2CV were hidden away during the conflict before 9million were sold between 1948 and 1990.
Many were even built in Britain, at Citroen’s former factory n Slough, during the 1950s.
Koskas told us: ‘I think there’s a great future for Citroen, especially in the UK.
‘People in Britain have a great passion for cars. We have great ambitions here.’
