A $27,000 battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from Stellantis is scheduled to be unveiled in 2024, possibly at the same time as the Volvo EX30 and the Volkswagen ID. Additionally, Stellantis’ BEV is set for sale around the same time as Tesla’s $25,000 vehicle launch.
To specifically compete against the Chinese-made Dacia Spring and the Renault 5EV, Stellantis’ Citroen brand intends to launch a city car called the e-C3. The primary goal of e-C3 is to serve the needs of mass-market consumers and divert them from cheap vehicles built in China.
According to Thierry Koskas, the brand head of Citroen, “Citroen has a history of producing inexpensive vehicles, and its current mission is to make electric mobility available to everyone. No car today comes close.”
On a single charge, the Citroen e-C3 should have a range of roughly 186 miles. Stellantis plans to sell one million units this year, up from just under 700,000 in 2022. The legacy automaker aims to have a 5% market share in Europe by the end of Q2 2023. Moreover, the automaker will have to compete with well-known Chinese automakers like BYD to succeed. The business will also need to accelerate the move to EV manufacturing.
The global auto industry is moving toward EVs, which is encouraging—or pressuring—automakers to produce BEVs. However, transitioning to BEVs is complex for some OEMs that are used to producing fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
The next wave of EVs is prioritizing affordability and compact size. The ID.2 and EX30 are two new vehicles from Volkswagen and Volvo, with pricing ranges between $20,000 and $30,000. However, Tesla has talked about releasing a $25,000 vehicle and has made hints that the small EVs are already in development.
