Fiat Koala: More details emerge about Citroën 2 CV’s Italian electric cousin

The star of the Paris auto show, the Citroën 2 CV won’t be the only model in production. Fiat also plans to launch another small city car, but it is unlikely to carry the Panda name.

In its Fastlane 2030 plan, Stellantis announced the introduction of a pair of affordable electric vehicles designed to take full advantage of the new M1E category… details of which remain pending confirmation and official inclusion in European Union regulations.

But the team is already in position. It unveiled the concept of the future Citroën 2 CV at the Paris Motor Show. Quite logically, Fiat gave Citroën free rein for this event. The Italian brand is now set to officially present its own vision for this segment.

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The new Citroën 2 CV is here! Here’s everything you need to know about this electric city car priced at 15,000 €

In spring, there were talks about replacing the Panda. However, with both the Grande Panda and the traditional Pandina (formerly Panda) still in production for a few more years, adding a third model to the lineup proves complicated from a marketing perspective.

The Italian brand has just registered the name Koala. At the exhibition booth, its new CEO, Arnaud Belloni, joked about Fiat now having the names Koala, Panda, and Grizzly, with the only bear name left unclaimed for its lineup being Kodiak (which is already used by Skoda). It’s obvious that Koala isn’t actually a bear...

Fiat Koala and Citroën 2 CV will share their concept, target price of 15,000 euros, Italian manufacturing site, as well as many technical components. These are likely to come from Leapmotor and their upcoming T03 model scheduled for 2027. On the design front, however, both brands will need to find a balance that allows them to maintain their distinct identities while still using common elements.

For the Fiat, Arnaud Belloni mentioned a design approach that is very different from that of the 2 CV, as neo-retro styles will not be used. However, the brand showcased at the Mondial the prototype of the Ippo project, which came from a competition launched a few months ago among students to design a small vehicle. Its cubic shapes pay clear homage to the original Panda!