OCOVER Citroen readies next-gen C3 models

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“How the pair look will come to define the next generation of Citroens, with a style evolved from the C5 Aircross”

EXCLUSIVE IMAGES

Citroen has big plans tosh

EXCLUSIVE By taking advantage of Stellantis group tech, French brand will introduce affordable new versions

James Brodie

James _ Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods

SMALL cars are a huge part of Citroen’s history. And while the French brand, like many rivals, has had to pull out of the city car segment, it’s drawing up plans for a twin assault of supermini-sized new cars, with replacements for the C3 hatchback and C3 Aircross SUV coming next year.

“If the question is ‘are we going to renew our B-segment cars within Citroen because they are not electric?’ , the answer is yes and yes and yes, ” Citroen’s head of product strategy, Laurence Hansen, told Auto Express. “And if the question is when, it’s soon. ”

In the case of the C3, “soon” is all but certain to be in 2023. The C3 Aircross that shares its platform should come soon after.

Today’s C3, the brand’s Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Fiesta rival, was Citroen’s best● New-look supermini and SUV will be in showrooms next year ● Ranges will include EVs alongside conventional petrol models

selling car in Britain in 2021. It and the C3 Aircross have found a niche as affordable options in a class where it’s becoming harder for manufacturers to make profits. The French brand has done this with the PF1 platform, not the newer CMP architecture, which allows full electrification.

Citroen has used CMP for all-electric cars in the family hatchback class, the e-C4 and forthcoming e-C4 X, and it underpins a version of the C3 introduced last year for emerging markets. However, the new C3 for Europe will be an entirely different car, using an updated version of the platform engineered to bring down the cost of electrifying Citroen’s B-segment offerings.

“The work we are all doing now is to decrease the costs or to be capable of compensating for the increasing cost of raw materials and electrification in all the projects we are developing, ” explained Citroen’s European boss Arnaud Ribault, after confirming the “evolution” of the CMP platform to Auto Express.

It would be a surprise to see any advances on the current range and charging technology boasted by sister cars like the Vauxhall Corsa-e and the Peugeot e-2008, though. The e-CMP version of the platform will almost certainly still accommodate a 50kWh battery between the axles for a maximum range of around 222 miles, with a 134bhp electric motor driving the front wheels.

But Citroen looks set to target a cheaper price than the C3 and C3 Aircross’s sister models. In the case of the supermini, that would mean undercutting the Corsa-e’s current starting price of £27,055, and a sub£30k tag for the Aircross would be the aim.

The new cars won’t be solely electric, and Citroen will take advantage of the flexibility of the CMP platform to offer petrol-powered versions of the new B-segment duo, using the PureTech 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit found in many Stellantis Group models.

How the new Citroens look will come to define the next generation of the brand’s models, using a style evolved from the newly facelifted C5 Aircross SUV.

“It’s going to be easier for me to talk about it in a year, ” said Citroen’s Head of Design Pierre Leclercq, teasing his vision for the French brand’s new design language.

He spoke at length about developing the ‘triangulation’ seen on the updated C5 Aircross, with an interpretation of that car’s new headlights and chrome front