Citroen is jumping on the retro EV trend by bringing out a new EV inspired by the 2CV - the most famous Citroen of them all. And it will be as cheap as EVs currently get.

Last year we were teased by the French carmaker that a Deux Chevaux-inspired ('two horses') electric car would be on its way in the next two years, but now Citroen is said to be readying a concept version to appear at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Similarly released at the Paris Show in 1948, the original 2CV cost £213 (£5,970 today) - and more than nine million were produced by the time its run ended in 1990. 

Following in these reveal footsteps and affordable tyre tracks, it's expected that the new, 2CV-inspired EV will cost less than €15,000 (£13,100). 

The new city EV will channel the spirit of the original which put rural France on wheels and proved you can make a car cheaply and sell it to buyers cheaply too.

Xavier Chardon, chief executive, said the 'e-car ' project will aim to 'bring mobility to the masses', Auto Express and Autocar report.

Chardon said: 'The European market is the only one that has not recovered after Covid.

'The US is back, China is back, even South America is back - and we are still missing three million people buying new cars each year in Europe. 

'And I would say 60 per cent of that is driven by the simple fact that you don't have any cars any more below €15,000 or £15,000.'

What can we expect from the new electric Citroen 2CV?

Details are light on the ground currently, but we do know that it's supposed to embrace Citroen's history and heritage, and success as a French 'people's car' maker.

Supposedly chief designer Pierre Leclercq is wanting to heavily recreate the original 2CV's design, and make sure it embodies the affordability, spaciousness, comfort and fuel efficiency (or in this case EV efficiency) of the original.

Citroen wants to get a slice of the success that Renault is currently experiencing with its retro-inspired R5 EV; the R5 is the only EV with a waitlist and has accrued 120,000 orders, topping European EV sales charts. 

It will be closer in size to the Renault Twingo EV though than the R5 - the Twingo is 3.8m long - and will be even cheaper than the Twingo's £17,000 price tag.

Range and battery size is not known but the Renault Twingo sets a benchmark of  163 miles.

It's likely the 'neo-retro' 2CV EV will arrive in 2029.

Other rivals around the £15k mark include BYD's Dolphin Surf (£18,675), the Leapmotor T03 (£15,995) and the Dacia Spring (£15,990). Dacia is also bringing out a new £15k city car. 

Original Citroen 2CV - why is it worth bringing back in electric form?

As Chardon said the original 2CV was made to 'bring mobility to the masses after World War II, even if it started before. It was to carry four farmers under one roof and be able to carry 50kg of potatoes.'

Indeed, the 2CV was famous for being designed pre-war to enable a farmer and family to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs without breaking them.

It was designed to motorize rural France, providing a low-cost, durable alternative to horses and carts for farmers. Conceived as the Toute Petite Voiture (Very Small Car),

It proved such an instant sales success that the Citroën 2CV was strictly rationed when first became available after production began in 1949 

It featured a simple two-cylinder engine, a rollback canvas roof, and unique soft suspension. Originally, it has 9bhp and a top speed of 40mph, but later upgrades took this to a mighty 16bhp in the early 1960s, before reaching a peak of 33bhp in the ‘70s.

It proved such an instant sales success that the Citroen 2CV was strictly rationed when it first became available after production began in 1949.