Three prevalent themes in the discussion
- Heritage/retro design as a selling point (and its limits)
- Many commenters praised Citroen’s nostalgic 2CV revival for feeling “like cars from the future” while echoing classic cues.
- forestingfisher: “I'm really digging Citroen's design recently. Along with Renault and Hyundai, they feel like cars from the future instead of the bloated aggressive and angular design we've come to expect.”
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Others warned that nostalgia alone won’t sustain sales: skywal_l suggested the pattern “first as a tool then as a totem,” and spankibalt noted, “Heritage and vintage looks, will only take you so far.”
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Demand for simple, affordable EVs without excess “cruft”
- A strong desire emerged for basic electric vehicles that avoid mandatory touchscreens, flashy infotainment, and unnecessary driver‑assist gadgets.
- detritus: “the European car industry's ripe for disruption by a nimble car company that can make really basic EVs with none of the pointless, excessive cruft that seems endemic in every new car release.”
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jubilee33 praised a rented Fiat sedan whose “controls were heaven compared to most of the new offerings,” and hn_submit said, “I'd love an EV with no screen except for the instrument dash and buttons, dials and sliders to operate the A/C and radio.”
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Price pressure from Chinese EVs and the need for cheap, reliable cars
- Repeatedly, users argued that European EVs are overpriced and that Chinese models (e.g., BYD Seagull, Dacia Spring) set the benchmark for affordability.
- hn_submit: “What people want most of all is a cheap and reliable car.”
- hn_submit also highlighted the BYD Seagull: “The BYD Seagull is a real car for $10,000 which is quite large to boot.”
- PorciiVorbesc summed up the competitive reality: “As they face mounting competition from Chinese manufacturers, Citroen and other European brands are exploiting their heritage as a means of selling modern motors.”