The new European framework freezes regulations for ten years opens the way for the great return of Citroen 2CV and Fiat Panda.
Its official communication Stellantis for the E-Car project At the Pomiliano factory in 2028 it was only the tip of the iceberg. His newest reporting brings to light the real intentions of the group, which include the historical revival of two of the most iconic names in the world history of motorism. The reason for Citroen 2CV and Fiat Panda, which are preparing to return to action as the cheapest purely electric models on the market, with their starting price aiming below the psychological limit of 15,000 euros.
The backbone of this ambitious project is none other than the new legislative initiative of the European Commission, which establishes the category M1E. It is an institutional framework that draws inspiration directly from the philosophy of famous Japanese kei cars. This category will concern electric vehicles with an overall length of less than 4.2 metres manufactured exclusively on European territory. The great advantage for manufacturers is that the European Commission intends to freeze the relevant regulations for a whole decade, offering the necessary investment confidence and reducing the continuing costs of upgrading.
The European framework M1E
The introduction of the M1E category brings with it an extremely powerful commercial motive that listens to the name super-credits. With this regulation, each city electric car classified will offer increased points to manufacturers against strict European targets for carbon dioxide emissions, allowing them to equalise sales of larger or thermal models. As Stellantis CEO Antonio Filoza said, the lack of affordable market options is one of the main wounds of the European car industry today, as cars under 15,000 euros have virtually disappeared.
The need for cheap electric city is also confirmed by the official data on the market situation in Europe. Citroen's head, Xavier Sardon, pointed out that the European market is the only world market that has not yet managed to return to the pre-dimension levels, presenting a deficit of three million sales annually. 60% of this fall is due to the fact that consumers have lost access to affordable models, resulting in the average age of motor vehicles in Europe having increased by two whole years over the last five years, more than 12 years.
The return of 2CV and Panda of 15,000 euros
In the Fiat camp, the plan includes the creation of a new entry-level model that will be placed at the base of the range, under the recently presented Grande Panda. Italian brand head Olivier François described the upcoming model as the «little teddy bear» (baby bear) next to «Mom bear» (mama bear) by Grande Panda. This new electric city will be based on the STLA City platform and its design will clearly refer to the squared, unspoiled and perfectly practical lines of the original Fiat Panda of the 1980s, emphasising simplicity and top space exploitation.
The same philosophy of the popular car is being prepared to revive Citroen, developing a new basic electric vehicle that will be the spiritual successor of the legendary Citroen 2CV. This model will be placed under e-C3, with the primary goal of returning purchasing power to European drivers, following exactly the same social mission that had fulfilled the original 2CV in France after the end of the Second World War. The concentration of production of this new generation of affordable EVs at the historic Pomiliano factory ensures the necessary production volumes to make affordable electric drive a mass reality.
