Citroen unveiled the 2CV concept at the 2026 Paris Motor Show earlier this month. The 3.76m-long concept previews a small electric hatchback due in 2028, with a European starting price of around €15,000. Autocar India has learnt from industry sources that the carmaker is evaluating India as a production base for the showroom version, both for the local market and for export.
The development comes about a week after Citroen confirmed plans for an A-segment car in India as part of a wider product push through 2030. Parent company Stellantis has also committed a fresh Rs 4,000 crore investment over the next three years to fund its product offensive here.
Why India?
The case for India is about cost. The 2CV EV will compete at the bottom of the European market, where margins are thin and competition is getting fiercer. Affordable Chinese brands have grown their share of the European market rapidly, and Stellantis needs a low-cost manufacturing base to answer them on price.
India fits that brief. Alongside Brazil, it is one of Citroen’s key production hubs outside Europe for its low-cost C3 family. The Thiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu, now fully owned by Stellantis after it bought out the CK Birla Group’s stake, builds the C3, eC3, Aircross and Basalt with more than 95 percent localisation. It already exports to eight markets, and Stellantis plans to lift output from around 16,000 units this year to more than 43,000 by 2028. 2CV EV production would not only help fill that capacity but expand it further.
Trade policy could also help. The India-EU free trade agreement, concluded earlier this year, should make exports from India to Europe more attractive in the long run.
The challenges
Building the 2CV cheaply in India will depend on developing a local supplier base for EV components which is still in a nascent stage in India. to begin with, the electric motor, for instance, could come from Leapmotor, the Chinese EV maker in which Stellantis holds a stake, which would help keep costs down.
The domestic market is a tougher question. India has traditionally been a small-car market, but the A-segment has been shrinking and is difficult to crack. Hyundai tried with the Eon and the second-generation Santro and neither succeeded. Mahindra and Toyota stay out of the segment altogether. Maruti Suzuki remains the dominant player with the Alto and S-Presso, while Tata offers the Tiago in ICE and EV forms.
Small EVs have found it even harder. The MG Comet, the closest thing to a 2CV EV on sale here, still sells only around a thousand units a month. Pricing is the other hurdle. A €15,000 car would cost well above what Indian buyers pay for entry-level EVs, so the 2CV would need significant cost reduction and deep localisation to work here. The price-to-size equation that governs this segment makes it even harder. For now, India’s role looks more likely to be as a factory for the world than as a big market for the car itself.
Coming a full circle
This isn’t the first time the 2CV has been linked to India. In the late 1980s, Escorts wanted to tie up with Citroen to build the original 2CV here and approached the government for a license for the project. This was before the industry was delicensed, though, and Escorts never received the approval to go ahead.
The original 2CV was produced between 1949 and 1990 as an affordable, frugal and versatile car for people on low incomes. It was built to carry four people and 50kg of luggage at modest speeds. During development, Citroen famously required that it be able to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking any, which shows how much attention went into its ride quality. Demand was so strong that by 1950 the waiting period had stretched to years. The new car keeps the round headlights, curved roof and fabric sunroof, but swaps the air-cooled twin for an electric motor.
More Citroens inbound
Beyond the 2CV, Citroen will add a C-SUV and a D-segment MPV by 2030 to a range that currently includes the C3, eC3, Aircross, Basalt and C5 Aircross. It will also lead Stellantis’ push into CNG in India. The eC3 remains the brand’s immediate EV focus; Stellantis India CEO Shailesh Hazela declined to confirm whether an electric Aircross is planned.
Hazela added that Citroen is increasing local and dealer-led marketing and developing more affordable showroom and service formats. “We will be investing not only in product, not only in manufacturing, not only in localisation but also in increasing our customer experience,” he told us.
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Suraj Viswanathan
