Citroen: every car will be electrified from 2025

Citroen boss Linda Jackson has confirmed that every car her company produces from 2025 onwards will be either fully electric or a plug in hybrid. And that’s from a standing start: the first plug in hybrid will be the C5 Aircross PHEV (pictured above), making its debut in Paris this week, but not on sale until 2020.

To be fair, it’s the story you’ll read over and over again from the Paris Show - you could cut and paste that first sentence and just change the name of the manufacturer. But it’s significant because for anyone in any doubt that the electric revolution is here, this puts actual dates on it.

What’s remarkable is this isn’t even Jackson’s first priority. That is to simply increase global sales from 1.1m in 2016 to 1.6m by 2021. Key to that is turbocharging its sales in China, and key to that is a new big, comfy saloon (that will also be sold globally) Citroen is currently beavering away on... just like the good old days.

“China still has a steady, stable large saloon market. It’s a car that gives us a wider range and more credibility, too,” Jackson explained.

But don’t expect a traditional three box design. “Essentials for a New Citroen are design and comfort. Maybe, I’ll create something new here for the market.”

In other news, dreams of a C3 VTR have been shattered - Jackson sees no need to build a road car that directly referenced their rallying efforts when her customers want comfort, not high performance. “We do rallying purely as a marketing tool, with occasional tech transfer - like the new progressive hydraulic suspension,” she says.

Plus, with SUVs flying out the door, the future looks shaken for both the C4 SpaceTourer MPV and C1 city car. Decisions are pending on both their futures... we suspect the axe is ready to swing.