VELIZY, France — The next generation of Citroen’s best-selling C3 small hatchback will be a full-electric model built in Europe that will sell for less than 25,000 euros, said Thierry Koskas, the brand’s new CEO.
The model, which will be called the e-C3, will have big shoes to fill, said Koskas, who replaced Vincent Cobee this February. The current C3 accounts for 30 percent of Citroen’s sales in Europe, even though it is seven years old and based on an older PSA Group platform than the rest of Stellantis’ small car lineup.
“It’s absolutely remarkable how sales [of the C3] have held up,” Koskas told journalists this week at Citroen parent Stellantis’ French headquarters in Velizy, west of Paris.
Koskas acknowledged the threat from Chinese brands such as SAIC’s MG brand and BYD, which are exporting low-cost EVs to Europe. “They have very competitive products,” he said, adding that Citroen will rise to the challenge. “Our response is the e-C3,” he said.
Koskas described the e-C3 as a “small hatchback with SUV elements,” but said it should not be considered a true crossover or SUV. Other small and minicars have adopted a similar design philosophy, including the Toyota Aygo X minicar and the Dacia Sandero Stepway small car.
The current C3 is built in Trnava, Slovakia; earlier generations starting in 2002 were built in Poissy, France.
Citroen already builds a low-price electric C3 model as part of its Smart Car program for India and other developing and emerging markets.
The e-C3 for those regions started production in January in Chennai, India, at a factory jointly owned by Stellantis and CK Birla. It is primarily sold with gasoline engines and uses a platform that was developed with Tata Consulting. That model has a range of 320 km (200 miles) from a 29-kilowatt-hour battery.
A second of three planned Smart Car models was announced in April, the New C3 Aircross small SUV.
The European e-C3 will be revealed this autumn and will go on sale in 2024, Koskas said. He declined to disclose further details about the car including range and powertrain.
The e-C3’s battery will provide a range of 300 km (186 miles) and will likely be made in China, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Koskas said the coming e-C3 for Europe would be a “unique” offering, as a “fully equipped” European-built small EV for less than 25,000 euros. There are a few full-electric minicars that sell for less, notable the Chinese-built Dacia Spring and the aging Volkswagen e-Up, but the C3 would be the lowest-priced full-electric small car.
Other Stellantis small EVs, such as the Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa, start in the mid-30,000-euro range.
“Today, there is no equivalent on the market,” Koskas said. He said the New e-C3 it would carry on the tradition of affordable, popular small cars from Citroen, including the 2CV, AX, Visa and Saxo models from years past.
However, it is expected to face competition from the France-built Renault 5, which is due to launch later in 2024, and the VW ID2, which will be built in Spain and reach the market by 2026. Variants for other VW Group brands are planned.
Through April, the current C3 was in sixth place in the small-car segment in Europe with 44,696 sales, according to figures from Dataforce. Sales were down 6.4 percent compared with the same period in 2022.