The Citroen 2CV will be produced in collaboration with Leapmotor, meaning it will essentially be Chinese. Europe’s triumph... Everything has fallen apart for us and is hanging in the balance.

The Citroen 2CV was undoubtedly the star of the Paris auto show as it neared its end. Almost all automotive media covered it, and so did we, because it captivated us. Meanwhile, Reuters learned that this “triumph of European manufacturers” will be developed in collaboration with the Chinese company Leapmotor. Officially, this is because Europeans would not be able to build a new car that quickly. Unofficially, according to our speculation? Leapmotor already has a ready-made powertrain and battery system, with Stellantis adding the chassis—whether it’s a Citroen design or another.

Citroen 2CV: A powerful electric vehicle from Europe powered by China’s cheapest technology

Reuters reported this information at the beginning of the event on October 12, but it somehow went unnoticed by us. The small electric vehicles that will leave Stellantis’ factory in Pomigliano (Italy) will be built on a platform “created in collaboration with Leapmotor.” It should be noted that the Citroen 2CV will also be produced in Pomigliano, just outside Naples (Italy), alongside other small cars.

Ned Curic, Stellantis’ chief technology officer, revealed details about close collaboration with Leapmotor during a press conference. The cooperation between European and Chinese engineers takes place at the research and development center in Mirafiori (Turin, Italy). It is said that Europeans are teaching the Chinese “what is needed to build a European urban vehicle platform,” while they themselves gain knowledge on how to execute projects at lightning speed. As a result, new electric vehicles from Stellantis (Citroen, Opel, …) will be ready in just two years.

The production version of the Citroen 2CV and another model from Stellantis in the affordable electric vehicle segment are set to hit the market in 2028 at a price of around 15,000 euros (equivalent to 65,500 zł). It is expected that the second new vehicle will be sold under the Opel or Fiat brand. Both are intended to be homologated under the M1E (E-Car) category, which was meant to help European manufacturers cope with the influx of Chinese electric cars but is now becoming a pathway for the cheapest Chinese models to enter Europe. According to highly unofficial sources, these vehicles will be built on Leapmotor’s T03 platform.

The good news about this last point is that the Leapmotor T03 features a fairly solid powertrain with a 37.3 (~36) kWh battery and a 70 kW/95 HP engine. It bounces over bumps like a ball, and achieving the target price will require cutting the battery capacity in half, but otherwise it’s a pleasant car for short city trips.

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