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Citroën C3 Finds the Sweet Spot—and Europe Can’t Get Enough

It took patience, persistence, and a willingness to zig where others zag, but Citroën has finally pulled off something that once felt improbable. The humble C3—long a staple of Europe’s cutthroat B-segment—has become a bona fide hit, so much so that the French brand is now struggling to keep up with demand across the continent.

That’s no small feat in a market where margins are thin, competition is ruthless, and electrification has often meant higher prices and lower volumes. Yet Citroën, quietly but confidently, has turned that logic on its head.

A Decade of Reinvention Pays Off

Over the past ten years, Citroën has undergone a steady transformation. The brand doubled down on affordability, comfort, and simplicity, while also accelerating its push into electrification. The goal was ambitious: make zero-emissions mobility mainstream, not just for premium buyers or urban early adopters, but for everyday drivers shopping in the B-segment.

Against expectations, it worked.

In just eight months, Citroën sold more than 100,000 C3s across Europe. The reasons are refreshingly straightforward. The car offers real-world comfort, usable technology, and respectable efficiency—without demanding a premium price. In an era where “cheap” often feels synonymous with “compromised,” the C3 has managed to feel like a smart choice rather than a sacrifice.

The End of Discounts—and the Return of Profit

What makes this success more remarkable is the context behind it. Citroën once relied heavily on aggressive discounts to drive volume, a strategy that worked until Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares famously imposed a zero-discount policy. Sales dipped almost immediately, and Citroën was among the first brands to feel the sting.

Now, the narrative has flipped. The question is no longer whether sales will return, but whether they can do so without eroding profitability. The C3 answers that question clearly. It sells well, it sells fast, and—crucially—it makes money.

Affordable EVs Change the Game

Momentum has only increased with the arrival of the electric ë-C3. With the gasoline version priced around €15,000 and the electric model coming in below €20,000, Citroën has undercut much of the competition while expanding its audience dramatically.

Demand quickly overwhelmed the Trnava plant in Slovakia, which is now running at full capacity. Delivery times have stretched to around six months—not because of chip shortages or supply-chain chaos, but simply because too many people want the car.

Recognizing the opportunity, Stellantis moved quickly. Production has been expanded to Kragujevac, Serbia, adding capacity for 40,000 additional units per year and pushing total annual C3 output to roughly 300,000 vehicles. It’s a clear signal that the group intends to capitalize fully on the model’s runaway success.

Looking Ahead

New Citroën CEO Xavier Chardon has been careful to temper expectations. The brand, he notes, is still below its pre-pandemic peak, squeezed by increasingly aggressive rivals in the same price brackets. Even so, the trajectory is unmistakably positive.

Citroën is on track to close 2025 with a significant sales increase—up as much as 32 percent as of October—driven largely by two models: the C3 and the C3 Aircross. The hatchback is a hit, but its SUV sibling is an outright phenomenon, posting a staggering 519 percent sales increase.

In a market obsessed with crossovers, range anxiety, and rising prices, the Citroën C3’s success feels almost old-fashioned. Build a comfortable, honest car. Price it sensibly. Make an electric version people can actually afford. Europe has responded in kind—and now it’s willing to wait.

Source: Automotive News

News

Mercedes-Benz Turns the Calendar Back—and the Volume Up—For a Milestone-Heavy 2026

By any reasonable definition, Mercedes-Benz has lived several lifetimes. In 2026, the brand isn’t just celebrating another birthday or two—it’s effectively hosting a year-long retrospective on how the automobile itself came to be, evolved, raced, broke records, learned to protect its occupants, and eventually became a cultural object. Mercedes-Benz Classic’s anniversary roster for 2026 reads less like a press schedule and more like a condensed history of mobility.

This is the year where dots connect across 140 years of engineering ambition—from the first patented automobile to modern all-wheel drive systems, from motorsport signaling boards to Formula 1 safety cars, from early trucks and vans to luxury sedans that defined entire segments.

The Birth of the Automobile—and the Brand

The big numbers come first. In January 1886, Carl Benz filed the patent for his three-wheeled vehicle with a gas-engine drive. That document, now 140 years old in 2026, is widely accepted as the automobile’s birth certificate. Just weeks later, in March of that same year, Gottlieb Daimler ordered a carriage that would become the foundation for the first four-wheeled automobile powered by a high-speed combustion engine. Two parallel paths, one destination: the modern car.

Fast-forward to June 1926, and those paths officially merged. Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft became Daimler-Benz AG, giving birth to the Mercedes-Benz brand exactly 100 years before 2026. It’s hard to think of another centennial that carries as much mechanical and cultural weight.

Engineering That Changed the Rules

Some anniversaries mark ideas that reshaped how cars are built. In January 1951, engineer Béla Barényi applied for the patent that introduced the safety body—separating crumple zones from a rigid passenger cell. It would reach production in the late 1950s, quietly becoming one of the most influential safety concepts in automotive history.

In February 1986, Mercedes-Benz showcased systems that now feel inseparable from modern driving: ASR traction control, ASD differential lock, and the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system. At the time, these were technological flexes demonstrated under extreme Finnish winter conditions. Today, they’re part of everyday automotive vocabulary.

Cars That Defined Segments

Some anniversaries revolve around metal rather than milestones. The Mercedes-Benz 300 (W 186) and 220 (W 187), unveiled at the 1951 IAA, laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the S-Class ethos: prestige, presence, and engineering authority. That same year, the 300 S (W 188) debuted in Paris as a coupe, cabriolet, and roadster—and wore the crown as the fastest German production car of its era.

January 1976 marked the arrival of the W123, a car so robust and well-balanced it became the global benchmark for executive sedans. Estates and coupes followed, cementing the model line’s reputation for durability that still echoes today.

Then there’s the SLK. When the R170 debuted at the 1996 Turin Motor Show, its steel vario-roof didn’t just look clever—it effectively created a new roadster segment. Thirty years later, its influence is obvious every time a hardtop convertible disappears into its own trunk.

Motorsport: Records, Returns, and Reinvention

Mercedes-Benz history isn’t complete without racing. In March 1901, the Mercedes 35 PS dominated the Nice Week, prompting an official to declare, “We have entered the Mercedes era.” That sentence still feels prophetic.

In June 1976, the experimental C 111-II D shattered expectations at Nardò, setting three world records and 16 class records. Nearly five decades later, that test track would again host history, when the Concept AMG GT XX became a world record holder in 2025—a neat historical rhyme heading into 2026.

The brand’s modern motorsport renaissance began in August 1986, when the Sauber-Mercedes C8 secured its first Group C victory at the Nürburgring. That win didn’t just fill a trophy case—it signaled Mercedes-Benz’s serious return to top-level racing.

And in Formula 1, Mercedes-Benz’s presence has been uninterrupted since 1996, when a C 36 AMG became the sport’s first official Safety Car. It’s one of those quiet roles that rarely gets headlines but defines the rhythm of every Grand Prix weekend.

Innovation Beyond the Racetrack

Not all anniversaries involve speed. In October 1946, testing began on the Unimog prototype—a “Universal Motorized Device for Agriculture” developed by former Daimler-Benz engineers. What followed was one of the most versatile vehicles ever built, equally at home on farms, battlefields, and mountain trails.

Even earlier, in 1896, Daimler presented the world’s first motorized truck, while Benz & Cie. supplied what is widely regarded as the first van. Long before lifestyle pickups and delivery fleets, Mercedes-Benz was already engineering mobility for work, not just pleasure.

A Living Archive of Automotive History

To support this anniversary-heavy year, Mercedes-Benz Classic will release ongoing press material and newsletters throughout 2026. For enthusiasts and researchers, the real treasure lies in the Classic M@RS multimedia archive, which opens the door to the brand’s entire documented history—from patents to prototypes to production legends.

More Than Nostalgia

What makes Mercedes-Benz’s 2026 anniversaries compelling isn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. It’s the realization that many of the things we now take for granted—safety structures, traction control, luxury flagships, endurance racing credibility, even the concept of a car itself—can be traced back to moments on this calendar.

In 2026, Mercedes-Benz isn’t just celebrating its past. It’s reminding the industry who wrote many of the opening chapters—and why those pages still matter.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

News

EU’s 2035 Combustion-Car Ban Is Dead—And the Industry Just Hit the Reset Button

In a plot twist worthy of a season finale, the European Union has effectively scrapped its 2035 ban on new combustion-engine cars, upending years of policy planning, industry investment, and political messaging. The bombshell came not from a leaked memo or late-night committee vote, but from Manfred Weber—president of the EPP, the European Parliament’s largest party—who told German outlet Bild that the legislation is “off the table.”

If confirmed, the move marks a seismic shift away from the EU’s previous 100% CO₂-reduction requirement for new vehicles by 2035, which would have forced manufacturers to sell only EVs. Instead, Weber says the EU will adopt more flexible fleet emissions rules, mandating a 90% cut in CO₂ output from new cars starting in 2035. Crucially, that remaining 10% gives combustion engines—likely running on synthetic or low-carbon fuels—a lease on life.

Weber doubled down, adding that no complete phaseout will be imposed in 2040 either. “The technology ban on combustion engines is off the table,” he said, framing the move as a lifeline for European manufacturing: “This secures tens of thousands of industrial jobs,” and sends an “important signal to the entire automotive industry.”

For automakers, that signal is clarity—something in short supply lately.

Just days ago, reports suggested the EU was considering pushing the ban from 2035 to 2040, aligning policy with more cautious EV-adoption forecasts and intense lobbying from heavyweights like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, BMW, and Stellantis. Instead, the EU appears ready to tear up the 2021 rulebook entirely.

This pivot reflects a political and industrial reality: EV sales are rising, but not fast enough to meet the aggressive targets set earlier this decade. Charging infrastructure remains uneven, battery costs are stubborn, and consumer hesitation has proven more resilient than anticipated. Europe’s largest automakers—some already navigating declining EV orders—have been increasingly vocal about the need for a slower, more flexible transition.

The official announcement is expected on Tuesday, December 16, but Weber’s comments leave little doubt about where the EU is heading.

The UK Question

What happens next for the UK—once the first major economy to propose its own ICE sales ban back in 2020—remains unclear. The country’s EV adoption rate is higher than the EU average, but still trails significantly behind government targets (28% by 2025). A dramatic policy reversal in Europe will inevitably pressure Westminster to reassess its own roadmap, especially as automakers weigh where to invest in future combustion-engine production.

What This Means

If confirmed, the EU’s decision doesn’t kill the EV revolution—but it does recalibrate the speed. Internal combustion, once considered in hospice care, is now back on its feet and training for a much longer race. Expect more hybrid tech, more investment in e-fuels, and manufacturers reshuffling product plans they thought were set in stone.

In short: the next decade of the European car market just became a lot more interesting.

Source: Autocar

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