New Citroën ë-C3 Coming Soon: Specs, price and release info

While they can save you money in running costs the expense of building electric cars makes it hard for manufacturers to sell them at affordable prices, especially with smaller models. That hits the kind of people who’d usually drive small city cars and hatchbacks harder than those buying premium or performance models, but with a starting price of less than £23,000 Citroën’s new ë-C3 thinks it may have the answer. Like the forthcoming Volkswagen ID.2all it launches with ambitions of lowering the cost of entry to electric motoring with a combination of smart design and simplicity.
• The C3 badge is familiar but this is an all-new car, slotting in beneath the C4 and up against more conventional rivals like the Vauxhall Corsa Electric or Peugeot e-208 • Modest power and a relatively small battery keep costs down • Performance is in a par with combustion engined superminis, while range is just shy of 200 miles • The ë-C3 is due on sale early in 2024, though we may have to wait a little longer for availability in right-hand drive markets like the UK • Citroën has confirmed a starting price of less than £23,000, helped by a super basic entry model

While Citroën says the design of the new ë-C3 is inspired by its radical looking Oli concept the reality is, perhaps, a little more conventional. Where Oli used flat panels and radical weight saving features like cardboard bodywork (really!) the ë-C3 stands somewhere between regular small hatchbacks like the outgoing C3 and taller, crossover-sized models like the Ford Puma. So, you sit a bit higher but it’s still as space efficient as a regular hatchback. The model range is based on a three-step progression from Citroën’s new You, Plus and Max trim levels, each with a simplified options range to spare you the agony of too much choice in the configurator. To hit that price point You is properly basic, with steel wheels and a dock so you use your phone instead of a screen as your infotainment hub for music, phone and navigation. Two-tone roof panels and switchable coloured trim inserts meanwhile let you customise the look of your ë-C3.

The basic You version does without a built-in screen, though you can upgrade to the 10.25-inch display that comes on the fancier trim levels if you want. This is basically a portal through which you mirror your phone to use its navigation and other apps, though on the top model you also get navigation and other features built in. More can be unlocked through an app, too. To help save cost there are no instruments, basic info like speed and similar instead projected into your line of sight. Citroën’s signature Advanced Comfort tech from elsewhere in the range is also standard, this including specially designed seat foam and clever suspension parts to take the edge off bumpy city streets.

Batteries represent a huge chunk of the upfront cost of electric cars, so Citroën has struck as sensible balance here between affordability and range. Just shy of 200 miles should be enough a small car like the ë-C3, while the 113 horsepower motor offers similar performance to the turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol engines found in many existing cars of this size.

The promised starting price of less than £23,000 is big news here, Citroën undercutting the likes of the MG4 by enough to make a difference and open the door to electric motoring to a broader cross section of buyers. Expect more news on this closer to the car going on sale in early 2024, at least in European home markets.

The first car off an all-new electric car platform, the ë-C3 is likely to spawn a new family of affordable electric models designed to compete with keenly priced EVs launching from Chinese brands taking their first steps into the European market.

The ë-C3 undercuts the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric, Citroën part of the same wider group but the first with this new technology. Don’t be surprised if others within the same organisation, including Fiat, also launch affordable models based on the same tech. Comparisons with the Volkswagen ID.2all will also be important, not least in terms of whether they can hit the promised low entry price.