The Paris Auto Show offered a glimpse of a European car market that increasingly favors small, efficient, and relatively inexpensive electric vehicles. Citroen unveiled a concept reviving the spirit of the 2CV, with affordability and practicality as priorities, and said it will build the car within two years at a starting price of €15,000. VW Group also showed new small EVs, including an electric ID. Polo and an ID. Cross crossover, and reports more than 150,000 orders for the family already.
Other notable debuts included Audi's A2 e-tron, which the company calls its most efficient car ever, and Peugeot's E-T16 concept, a modern take on its 1980s rally legend. The article's author argues that none of these vehicles are likely to reach the United States, where Stellantis brands are instead preparing to relaunch a V8 Hellcat-powered Charger. That contrast, the author suggests, shows a divergence between European and American automotive priorities, with the US continuing to favor larger, gas-powered vehicles over the small EVs showcased in Paris.