Stellantis Will Soon Introduce an Affordable, Mass-Market EV

Multinational automaker Stellantis plans to introduce the first electric vehicle (EV) aimed at entry-level car buyers that will be produced in Europe.

The company’s Citro?n brand will debut the new e-C3 in October with a price tag beginning at less than 25,000 euros — equivalent to $27,300 — Stellantis’ chief executive recently told reporters. The compact EV will be assembled at a Stellantis plant in Slovakia and be delivered to its first drivers early next year.

The automaker hopes the e-C3 will qualify for government subsidies for EVs produced in Europe, which are growing increasingly generous as more affordable Chinese-made electric vehicles begin to make their way to the continent. France — home to Citro?n for more than a century — could provide a “social leasing” program worth more than $100 per month to qualifying households, Reuters reported.

The new vehicle, however, will likely be equipped with a battery produced in China, which could complicate its status under those government incentives. It would also decidedly be directed at urban commuters — the e-C3 would fall under the smallest of Stellantis’ four battery-electric vehicle platforms with a range of fewer than 200 miles per charge.

Stellantis, which also counts Jeep, Fiat, and Peugeot among its brands, hopes to phase out sales of new internal-combustion engine vehicles in Europe by 2030. In the U.S., it aims for half of the sales to come from electrics by that year.