Tag Archives: Citroen

Citroën has never been shy about zigging where others zag, and with the unveiling of its new ELO concept, the French brand is doubling down on its century-old habit of rethinking what a car should be. Following the wonderfully oddball OLI from 2022, ELO represents Citroën’s next big leap—a rolling laboratory of ideas built to anticipate how we’ll move, work, and live in the near future.

And if Citroën has anything to say about it, the future is compact, cheerful, electric, and unexpectedly spacious.

A Minivan for the New Electric Age

The ELO measures just 4.10 meters long—city-car territory—but inside, it opens up like a modernist studio apartment on wheels. Electric-only packaging gives designers the freedom to push wheels outward, flatten floors, and stretch volume in ways combustion cars simply couldn’t. The result is a “little one that thinks big”: a machine that wants to be your commuter pod, weekend camper, mobile office, and six-seat family shuttle—all at once.

Citroën calls it a “tiny house on wheels,” and for once, the marketing doesn’t feel exaggerated.

REST. PLAY. WORK. Repeat.

Inside the ELO, the usual car/interior distinction dissolves. It’s less cockpit, more living room. Seats slide, fold, rotate, and vanish in ways that make current minivans look downright rigid.

Everyday setup: four seats, with the driver sitting centrally—McLaren F1 style—for maximum forward visibility under a panoramic 180-degree windshield.
Conversation mode: the driver’s seat swivels around to face the rear passengers, turning the cabin into a rolling lounge.
People-mover mode: two additional seats unfold from hidden compartments, expanding capacity to six.
Adventure mode: the entire interior converts into a sleeping space for two—think micro camper van without the bulk.
Entertainment mode: the cabin transforms into a home-cinema setup, reinforced with onboard power solutions.

It’s modularity pushed to the point of playfulness, and in a market where every interior is starting to feel like a tablet with seats, that’s refreshingly human.

The Cheerful Personality Missing in EVs Today

Where many electric concepts lean into sterile minimalism, the ELO embraces “joie de vivre.” Bright colors, expressive surfaces, and a kind of toy-like friendliness define the exterior. Citroën wants this thing to feel accessible and optimistic—a counterpoint to the cold futurism dominating the EV landscape.

This isn’t a car that takes itself too seriously. And that’s a good thing.

Co-Created with the Outdoors Experts

To build ELO, Citroën tapped partners who understand real-world lifestyles:

Decathlon contributed expertise from its outdoor gear team, helping inspire functional, durable, sustainable interior materials and clever onboard storage.
Goodyear developed new “smart” outdoor-ready tires capable of adapting to the car’s varied use cases—urban commuting one moment, dirt-track detours the next.

The result is a concept that feels grounded rather than purely theoretical. You can imagine using this thing tomorrow, not in some distant utopian cityscape.

A Signal of Where Citroën Wants to Go

Xavier Chardon, Citroën’s brand chief, frames ELO as a thesis statement: bold, accessible, responsible, and designed around well-being rather than horsepower arms races. The company is entering Formula E, refreshing its lineup at high speed, and clearly wants to reassert itself as Europe’s friendly disruptor.

Design boss Pierre Leclercq puts it bluntly: design must combine style and function—and ELO is the purest expression of that philosophy. Citroën’s designers had “fun,” and it shows.

So What Exactly Is ELO?

A hint at the next Berlingo? A preview of a future city camper? Or simply a manifesto for how Citroën believes electric packaging should be used?

Maybe ELO is all of these. But most importantly, it’s a reminder of something the industry sometimes forgets: cars can be clever. They can be playful. They can make life easier instead of more complicated.

Whether ELO becomes a production model or stays a showpiece, Citroën’s message is clear: the future of mobility isn’t just about range and charging speeds. It’s about giving people back their time, space, and freedom.

And if that future looks anything like ELO, it might actually be fun.

Source: Stellantis

News

Citroën Is So Tired of Britain’s Potholes, It Started Filling Them Itself

November 20, 2025 Francis Mitterrand

Spend five minutes on a British B-road and you’ll understand why suspension technicians never go out of business here. Potholes—craters, really—dot the tarmac like a lunar surface, and drivers have learned to brace for impact as instinctively as they check their mirrors. But Citroën has apparently reached its breaking point.

Rather than simply touting its plush “Advanced Comfort” suspension as a solution to Britain’s busted roads, the French automaker did something unusual: it paid to fix the potholes itself.

A Week of Repairs—On Citroën’s Tab

After filing a Freedom of Information request with 424 local councils across the UK, Citroën discovered what most motorists already suspected: the country’s infrastructure is in deep trouble. How deep? According to the data, 1 in every 20 roads requires immediate repair, and some councils face wait times of years before they’ll make a dent in their backlog.

Shropshire Council estimated it would need three years just to catch up. Pembrokeshire and Clackmannanshire said a full year. And the absolute pothole heavyweights?

Dumfries and Galloway: 16,819 reported potholes
Derbyshire County: 13,327
Shropshire: 8,686

These aren’t roads—they’re geological features.

Citroën’s FOI also asked councils to categorise their road networks into green, amber, and red conditions. “Red” means someone should probably investigate before a wheel falls off. The answer: over 12,000 miles of red-grade road across the UK.

After digesting that grim report card, Citroën put its money where Britain’s asphalt used to be. The brand funded one week of pothole repairs in Gateshead, resulting in 250 square metres of cracked, cratered road being patched.

Citroën’s Message: Local Councils Need More Than Sympathy

“We’re highlighting ongoing problems the UK’s roads are facing,” said Greg Taylor, Citroën UK’s managing director. “More needs to be done… councils need more support.”

He’s not wrong. The government pledged an additional £1.6 billion toward local road maintenance last year. But according to the latest ALARM report, fully clearing the UK’s pothole backlog would take 12 years and £16.8 billion—assuming we don’t add fresh potholes faster than we fill them.

If You Can’t Fix the Roads, Cushion the Ride

This is where Citroën pivots gracefully from civic frustration to showroom opportunity. If the blacktop won’t behave, the French brand suggests driving something designed to soak up the abuse.

The latest C3 Aircross and C5 Aircross come standard with Citroën’s “Advanced Comfort” suspension—those hydraulic bump stops that make speed bumps and broken surfaces feel more like rolling over a thick carpet than a medieval torture device. Add in soft, sofa-like seats and you’ve essentially built a cocoon for anyone forced to commute on Britain’s war-torn roads.

Sure, fixing potholes is ideal. But until the UK closes a £16-billion crater of its own, Citroën seems prepared to patch the problem—or at least help you glide over it.

Source: Auto Express

NEW CARS

Citroën Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision: Micro Mobility Meets the Surf

November 3, 2025 Francis Mitterrand

On the windswept Atlantic coast, where surfboards outnumber sedans and salt air is the local perfume, Citroën is waxing up its adventurous side once again. The French automaker has teamed up with legendary surf brand Rip Curl for the international finals of the Rip Curl GromSearch, a global event spotlighting under-16 surfing prodigies. And this year, Citroën isn’t just sponsoring the event—it’s bringing a concept car that feels right at home on the sand: the Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision.

This pint-sized electric oddball is Citroën’s latest experiment in youth mobility—a colorful, playful, and surprisingly thoughtful mashup of urban EV and surfside lifestyle accessory. It’s equal parts toy and tool, designed for those who live to chase waves, not gas stations.

The Partnership Returns to Shore

The Citroën–Rip Curl connection isn’t new. The partnership dates back to 2016, when the two brands started co-badging special editions of the C4 Cactus and C3 Aircross—compact cars that embodied freedom, creativity, and French eccentricity. Those cars targeted drivers seeking a bit of adventure beyond the boulevard.

This time, though, the collaboration dives deeper. With the Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision, the two companies are tapping into shared values of sustainability, freedom, and fun—all wrapped in a 100-percent electric package that’s accessible from age 14.

“Together, we share the same vision focused on adventure, style, and freedom,” says Xavier Chardon, CEO of Citroën. “The Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision embodies that free spirit while reaffirming our commitment to accessible electric mobility.”

Rip Curl Europe’s president, Mathieu Lefin, echoes that sentiment: “It’s the dream car for young surfers—a project that showcases recycling processes for used wetsuits and our commitment to sustainability and innovation in the service of freedom and adventure.”

A Buggy with a Surfer’s Soul

Think of the Ami Buggy as a cross between a dune buggy and a rolling surf shack. Its purple bodywork, contrasted with a white sunroof and black canvas detailing, gives it a cheerful, sun-faded aesthetic. The white LED light bar perched atop the roof doesn’t just look cool—it’s functional for those early dawn patrol sessions. Inside, Citroën keeps things eco-friendly with seat cushions and mats made from recycled wetsuits, along with storage bins and waterproof compartments designed with sandy gear in mind.

The Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision is full of practical touches that speak the language of surfers. There’s a portable shower and changing mat, a roof rack and side mounts for surfboards, and even a banana pouch that attaches to the steering wheel for on-the-go storage. A waterproof bag for wet gear and a foldable passenger-side storage bin make sure no space goes to waste.

And because Citroën can’t resist a bit of whimsy, the accessories list includes a Citroën x Rip Curl surfboard, an Ami-shaped wax comb, and even a purple Bluetooth speaker that matches the car’s exterior hue.

Electric Freedom for the Next Generation

Underneath the surf-inspired shell, the Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision shares its bones with the regular Citroën Ami, the brand’s quirky two-seat urban EV. The Ami is classified as a quadricycle, meaning it can be driven by teenagers as young as 14 in many European countries—no license required. Its 8-hp electric motor and roughly 45 km/h (28 mph) top speed won’t break any records, but that’s not the point.

This is mobility reimagined: compact, electric, and accessible. During the GromSearch finals near Hossegor, Citroën will supply a fleet of Amis and Buggies for young surfers’ transfers, while also offering public test drives. It’s a clever move—introducing the next generation to electric mobility in a way that feels like freedom, not compromise.

Sustainability, with a Smile

In a world where sustainability messaging often feels clinical, the Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision manages to make eco-consciousness look fun. Floor mats from recycled wetsuits, modular components, and small-scale electric power all underscore a philosophy of light impact and creative reuse.

It’s less about zero emissions bragging rights and more about proving that environmental design can have personality—and purple paint.

A French Wave of Optimism

The Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision isn’t a production car (at least not yet), but Citroën’s track record suggests this concept is more than vaporware. The brand has already experimented with limited runs of the Ami Buggy in France, all of which sold out in minutes. If this Rip Curl edition ever hits the market, expect it to be equally collectible.

Ultimately, this concept feels like a distillation of what Citroën does best: reimagining mobility with charm and purpose. It’s an urban runabout that thinks it’s a beach cruiser, built for a generation that values freedom over horsepower.

So while the Hossegor waves may rise and fall, the spirit behind this little EV endures—a reminder that adventure doesn’t always require an engine roaring at full throttle. Sometimes, it just needs a surfboard, a smile, and a silent ride down to the beach.

The Citroën Ami Buggy Rip Curl Vision is a micro-mobility concept with a macro sense of fun. It blends sustainability, design flair, and surfer-friendly functionality into a package that’s as accessible as it is aspirational. If Citroën’s goal was to capture the youthful energy of surfing in an EV, they’ve done it—with a wave and a wink.