05:56 04-01-2026

Citroen considers a compact, European-built EV under £15k

Citroen is exploring a European-built, sub-£15k city EV under the new M1E category, slotting between the Ami and e‑C3 on a pared-back Smart Car platform.

Citroen is weighing the launch of a compact, European-built electric car priced below £15,000, according to the brand’s head of design, Pierre Leclerc. The idea gathered momentum after the EU in December set in motion a new M1E category for EVs up to 4.2 metres long.

Leclerc said Citroen is already working with European Commission task groups and has early concepts on the table. The prospective model would bridge the gap between the Ami quadricycle and the e-C3 hatchback, which is priced just under £20,000 before subsidies. That space in the range was once occupied by the Citroen C1, and the absence has been felt—especially as urban buyers look for simple, city-friendly EVs that don’t overshoot the budget.

The company is considering the Smart Car platform, already used by the e-C3, Fiat Grande Panda and Opel Frontera. Even so, the architecture could be pared back, potentially by omitting some expensive driver-assistance features to keep costs in check. For a city-focused model, that kind of pragmatic simplification reads as a sensible path to hitting the target price without undermining everyday usability.

Final M1E rules have yet to be confirmed, which is slowing decisions. Citroen does not rule out that adapting existing models to the new standards might be quicker than developing a clean-sheet car. Even with that uncertainty, the brand aims to be among the first to put an affordable city EV on European roads once the regulatory picture clears—an opening that could restore some of Citroen’s long-standing small-car appeal.