New Citroen e-C3 to bring 124-mile range for £22,000

The all-new Citroen  ë-C3 will cost just €23,300 (£20,100) at launch, comfortably undercutting all but the cheapest Chinese alternatives on the continent. An even cheaper version with a smaller battery will join the line-up in 2025, priced at €19,990 (£17,250), Autocar understands. UK pricing will start between £22,000 and £23,000.

Citroën insiders told Autocar they believe it to be the most affordable “proper” electric car on the market, noting that it’s a full-size five-seater, unlike the rival Dacia Spring Electric.

Key to achieving such keen pricing was the use of the cost-effective Smart Car platform, which was originally reserved for the separate ‘CC21’ C3 sold in India and Latin America.

Although the new Europe-bound C3 was conceived as an EV, this platform can support a combustion powertrain if there is sufficient demand (as was the case in the UK with the C4 X), and Citroën has left enough room beneath the bonnet for a petrol engine. A Citroën UK spokesperson confirmed to Autocar that the combustion Citroen C3 will target a starting price below £15,000, rivalling the Dacia Sandero.

The Smart Car platform was adapted to satisfy European regulations, gaining a stronger crash structure (the CC21 C3 infamously scored zero stars in Latin NCAP safety testing), and was given a host of tweaks to improve refinement, while the battery compartment under the rear seat bench was changed from a T-shape to a square to improve capacity.

The supermini will arrive with a 44kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack, giving it a range of 199 miles. The €19,990 variant will offer a range of 124 miles.

The LFP chemistry brings several advantages: it is cheaper to produce, lasts longer and completely omits cobalt. However, LFP cells are not as energy-dense as nickel manganese cobalt, meaning LFP battery packs of equivalent capacity weigh more. Additionally, LFP batteries are typically more sensitive to external temperatures, with significantly reduced charge rates in cold conditions.

Citroën is confident that the relatively small range of the new Citroen C3 will be plenty, as project manager Guillaume Noël explained: “In the B-segment, we want to keep it simple. We know that, on average, most of our customers do less than 80km [50 miles] per day, and I’m sure that, even in cold weather, we will be able to meet that requirement.” In the name of affordability, no heat pump will be fitted.

To ensure the ë-C3 remains usable on longer journeys, it is capable of rapid charging at rates of up to 100kW, enabling a 20-80% charge in 26 minutes.

Ride comfort was a priority for the Citroen ë-C3 (another spiritual link to the 2CV), so it features Citroën’s Advanced Comfort hydraulic bump stops.

Straight-line performance is comparable to that of the current petrol C3. A single motor pushes 111bhp through the front wheels, allowing the ë-C3 to dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in around 11.0sec. Its top speed is 84mph.

The ë-C3 isn’t significantly longer or wider than today’s C3, but it is 100mm taller, boosting head room and bringing a more commanding driving position. Passenger space is significantly improved in other ways, too: Citroën claims the most generous rear knee room in the class.

Brand CEO Thierry Koskas confirmed that, although the two cars are now similar in proportion, the ë-C3 does not replace the Citroën C3 Aircross. It has “absolutely nothing to do with the C3 Aircross”, he said. “There will be a new C3 Aircross that will come later, but that will be a different car, so nothing to do with C3.”

Inside the ë-C3, the goal was to provide a “zen feeling”, according to design lead Boris Reinmöller. “We just wanted it to be as simple as possible in terms of design,” he said.

There is a head-up display as standard, and the two higher trim levels feature a 10.25in infotainment touchscreen as standard, but the entry-level You variant replaces the latter with a Volkswagen Up-style smartphone dock.

A dedicated smartphone app will be created to give drivers access to music, radio, calls and sat-nav via their phone (although the touchscreen can be added as an optional extra). Every other core control is handled by a physical switch or button.

The brief for the exterior was to move away from the soft curves of the current C3, explained Reinmöller: “The earlier Citroëns were quite playful, almost to our liking a bit too playful, so we wanted to become a little bit more mature in its treatment.

“In its section treatments, [we wanted] to bring out the muscles as well, although we stayed a bit soft and gentle – it’s not a Peugeot! It’s still a friendly feel in terms of surfacing, but it’s more defined.”

Nonetheless, the new Citroen ë-C3 does retain an element of fun in its design. There are two ‘colour clip’ inserts on each side of the car which allow the addition of swappable, colour-contrasting accents.

Three hues will be available at launch – orange, neon-green and white – but Citroën confirmed plans to expand the selection of colours, adding that graphics such as national flags may eventually become available.

The importance of the ë-C3 to Citroën’s future can’t be understated: the C3 currently takes 40% of the brand’s passenger car sales, according to the firm.

Opinion: Citroën leading the charge for affordable EVs

The fear in recent years has been that Europe’s car manufacturers would concentrate on building expensive EVs and allow rivals, principally Chinese, first to capture the low-end EV market and then to move into more expensive sectors at their leisure.

Citroën has launched a fightback, and it’s rather a surprise that it will begin as early as October this year.

The forthcoming ë-C3 is a brand-new, affordable and European-made EV coming to reinforce a meagre range of small European EVs, such as the redoubtable Renault Zoe, which it undercuts considerably.

You could hardly think of a move in the modern car market more ideal for spearheading a new marketing 'kick' for Citroën than this, and that’s how the firm intends to use it.

The creators of the legendary 2CV, built from 1948, would be proud.