Stellantis wants to revive popular small cars: the return of the Citroën C1?

As the world moves forward, a concerning fact remains for our industry: the European car market is the only one globally that has not recovered to its pre-COVID performance levels, still showing a persistent deficit of around 20%. If this situation continues, it threatens to have severe social and industrial consequences. In this tense climate, a prominent voice is proposing an alternative and pragmatic path. Jean-Philippe Imparato, head of the enlarged Europe region for Stellantis, has put a powerful idea on the table: to relax certain regulations to allow for the grand return of genuinely accessible and popular cars. Today, I want to delve into this proposal and what it could mean for all of us.

The dangerous spiral of the disappearing small car

To grasp the full stakes of the current situation, it is crucial to understand its origins. If the European market is struggling to restart, it is partly because one of its fundamental components has been systematically eroded: the A-segment, the category of small city cars. For us Citroën enthusiasts, this immediately brings to mind the end of the C1 in 2022, which, alongside its cousin the Peugeot 108, long represented an affordable and clever entry point into mobility. These models, like many others (Opel Karl, Ford Ka), did not disappear due to a lack of public interest, but rather under the weight of increasingly strict and costly regulations. Each new standard, whether for safety or emissions, carries a fixed cost that is proportionally much heavier for a small vehicle than for a large sedan. The result has been purely mathematical: the average price of new cars has skyrocketed. In 2018, there were 49 models available under the symbolic €15,000 mark; today, only the most basic version of the Dacia Sandero remains. This inflation has made new cars inaccessible for a growing portion of the population, leading to a problematic dual effect: a worrying aging of the cars on the road and, consequently, CO2 emissions that are struggling to decrease significantly.

A "pact of reason" proposed to Brussels

Faced with this deadlock, Jean-Philippe Imparato is proposing a form of "responsibility pact" to the European Commission. The idea is simple in principle but audacious in its ambition: to recreate the conditions for a new segment of cars to be sold for around €15,000, whether hybrid or electric. To achieve this, the essential prerequisite is regulatory adjustment. Stellantis is not asking to turn back the clock, but to create a specific category, much like the famous "Kei Cars" in Japan, which account for 40% of the Japanese market. "Does a small car need Lane Assist to go get a loaf of bread?" the executive sensibly asks. The concrete proposal would be to return to a set of standards equivalent to those of 2018—already very demanding, but economically sustainable for small models. In exchange for this easing, and to ensure these vehicles are used for their intended purpose, Stellantis would commit to limiting their top speed to 110 km/h (approximately 68 mph). Another crucial condition would be to mandate a minimum of local European content, so that this new opportunity doesn't primarily benefit Chinese manufacturers. Moreover, Stellantis is not alone in this fight. Luca De Meo at Renault had already warned two years ago that the price of small cars had multiplied by 2.5 over two decades due to regulations.

This proposal comes at a critical moment. On September 12th, a strategic meeting is scheduled to discuss the future of the automotive industry on the continent, particularly the controversial 2035 deadline to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles. Major manufacturers, from Stellantis and Volkswagen to BMW and Mercedes, are increasingly expressing their doubts about the feasibility and wisdom of this single-minded timeline. Jean-Philippe Imparato's move is therefore part of a broader offensive aimed at bringing the Brussels authorities back to a form of economic and social pragmatism. He even goes a step further by promising that, if his proposal is accepted, Stellantis will self-fund scrappage schemes to accelerate fleet renewal. The objective is clear: to restore a dynamic European market, make mobility accessible to the many, and thereby preserve the industrial base and the jobs that depend on it. Because without a major shift and an adaptation of the rules, the risk of facing inevitable and painful factory closures in Europe would become all too real.