The future of Citroën has long been heralded as low-cost, even though it is not. However, the brand is determined to offer affordable electric vehicles, in keeping with its promise to make the electric car accessible, just as André Citroën promised when the brand was founded.
While the one who will show how Citroën imagines electric vehicles will arrive in a few months, it is Pierre Leclercq, the brand's design director, who announces that Citroën intends to offer aggressive prices for its future B-segment electric cars, in other words the future C3 and C3 Aircross. These forthcoming vehicles will allow the brand to take advantage of the enthusiasm of customers for electric vehicles by offering them a truly accessible proposition, with an objective sales price of around €25,000 for the future electric C3, i.e. a car significantly cheaper than its Stellantis sisters currently on the market.
Indeed, an electric Opel Corsa starts at €33,450, a Peugeot 208 costs at least €34,800, while a Fiat 500 starts at €25,400 (95hp engine and 190km range). With this target price of €25,000, which makes it possible to go below the €20,000 bonus deducted, Citroën would therefore strike a blow in this segment by bringing a 4m car that is habitable, comfortable, which Pierre Leclercq affirms that it was designed "to bring a really aggressive price target to the market", adding: "I think it's going to be a huge, huge advantage for a brand like Citroën. You know, as the premium brands try to get more premium, some people who don't have that kind of money to buy a car".
If the future C3 is the first to arrive on the market, it will be followed a few months later by the new version of the C3 Aircross, which will also be available as an electric version and sold at aggressive prices, leading Pierre Leclercq to say: "We will soon have some great products that I think are really great in terms of design. It's going to be super cool. I mean, we're excited to get these things out there. The prices are going to be so aggressive. We can only be proud to have done this.
With the future C3 Aircross, Citroën has a very good chance if it manages to offer it at prices that are really lower than those of its competitors. On the one hand, electric offerings in this segment are quite rare, consisting of a Peugeot e-2008 with a starting price of more than 40,000 € or a Hyundai Kona with a price tag of more than 36,000 €. If Citroën succeeds in offering an electric C3 Aircross from €30,000, it will create a sensation on the market by offering a vehicle that is more liveable than its competitors, practical without being stripped down, as the brand will not go down to this level of range. This leads Pierre Leclercq to say that Citroën will "play a major role in the automotive industry over the next two years".