Citroen boss promises more simplicity: "our cars aren't a technological Christmas tree"

"There are just two versions, and a choice of colour. We've killed the configurator." This is Citroën boss Thierry Koskas on the Ë-C3 electric supermini. Its petrol alternative has just one version. That's his strategy for Citroën as a whole, too. He tells TopGear.com: "We don't want life to be complicated."

So the whole range is being renewed, but the whole range isn't big. The new C3 and Ë-C3 are just arriving, soon followed by the C3 Aircross and Ë-C3 Aircross. Those second two are unusual in being seven-seaters even though they're cheap, and shorter than a Qashqai.

A "deep facelift" of the C4 is coming in 2025, with PHEV, electric and mild-hybrid, and the new Citroen face.

Later in 2025 he launches all-new C5 Aircross, which he says will use the same platform as the Peugeot 3008, in electric, mild hybrid and PHEV forms. "We really want full-EV on the C5 Aircross. We have missed it."

There's also the C5X, but he says that's small numbers. "Not because it's unsuccessful but because that's a tiny segment – non premium big cars including the Superb and Passat." He says in future there'll be no more big Citroens, however great was the company's record in the distant past.

Even so, "we are daring", he insists. Not maybe in the format of engineering extravagances like the SM or CX, but cites the ingenious 2CV. So beyond the cars listed above, there will be a couple more "breakthrough models". That might include a new car of a "different shape" he says, but won't elaborate.

What does 'daring' mean? "We embed features customers need, but our cars aren't a technological Christmas tree. We're not in a tech race, so we won't have 50in screens. We are about simplicity, and that includes simple to use."

All those C3 cars use a new low-cost platform, known as the Stellantis Smart Car. It can go even bigger than the C3 Aircross, he says, and smaller, and more new Citroens (as well as the Fiat Panda and Vauxhall Frontera) will use it. "It makes affordable cars. We have to milk that cow."

The electric versions use a battery of LFP chemistry – "a huge cost saving" – and it's slab-shaped so can be physically bigger than the one in current Stellantis small cars. The platform has many fewer components than most small cars, he says. And the line-up is simple, with fewer options, simplifying manufacture, purchasing and logistics. So the one-version C3 petrol is just £17,790.

Simplicity for the buyer too. Everyone pays the same price, with no discounts for fleets or buyers who negotiate harder. Well that's the plan, but aren't UK dealers prone to haggling? "We want fixed prices and we're on the way. Discounts mean we're doing stupid things with residuals." And low residuals mean higher PCP monthlies.

What if the Chinese steam in with cheap cars? "We're well placed. We have few competitors for the Ë-C3 at the moment. We need to highlight our advantages: the big dealer network, trust, the strength of Stellantis."

He says he's not too bothered by the ZEV mandate in Britain, because so far Citroën had only the Ë-C4 but next year will have many more electric cars. "About 60 per cent of early C3 orders in France and Italy are the electric versions." The price gap between petrol and electric will narrow.

"It's amazing to see how the technology and cost have evolved. I was in Renault, one of the fathers of the Zoe. We didn't foresee that speed." So the Ë-C3 is £21,990 for 199 miles of range.