The 2025 Citroën ELO Concept marks a new and bold chapter for the esteemed French brand. Following the OLI concept from 2022, ELO is a vibrant laboratory of ideas. It explores solutions inspiring Citroën’s thinking for future mobility. The ELO perfectly embodies the brand’s values: bold, clever, creative, and centered on user well-being. True to a century of innovation, Citroën reaffirms its pioneering role in an era of quickly changing lifestyles. The ELO anticipates these needs, offering a fun, accessible, and responsible means of transport.
Rethinking Architecture for Electric Mobility
Citroën is exploring disruptive solutions to completely reinvent vehicle habitability. This involves reinterpreting the spirit of the MPVs and leisure vehicles that defined the brand’s past. By focusing on architectures designed exclusively for electric vehicles, Citroën frees up new interior space. The result is an interior that functions as a true living space. This ambitious goal is clearly illustrated in ELO, the “little one that thinks big.”
Exceptional Compactness and Volume
The ELO is a true “tiny house” on wheels, packed with clever and functional features. Its compact exterior minivan design, at only 4.10 meters, contrasts sharply with a surprisingly generous interior. This minimal footprint, similar to the ë-C3, controls the space taken up by the vehicle. This was a reasoned decision, bucking the trend of ever-increasing vehicle size. The electric platform, with the motor on the rear axle, frees up unexpected space inside. The ratio of exterior size to interior volume is unbeatable for a minivan.
The Ultra-Modular Living Space
The ELO was fundamentally designed to be a comfortable everyday companion for its users. Its goal is to facilitate rest, play, or work via its complete and intuitive modularity. The concept fully exploits the benefits of its 100% electric architecture. Its versatile nature meets the demands of a fast-paced life filled with commuting, teleworking, leisure, and family activities. The vehicle’s modern, colorful, and cheerful design serves an active lifestyle.
A Unique Central Driving Position
The ELO adapts to the customer’s needs, not the other way around. The standard model has four seats with the driver’s seat positioned centrally upfront. This original layout provides extended visibility through a 180-degree windscreen. The central driver’s seat can rotate 360 degrees for conversation or focused work. Furthermore, the high roofline, at 1.70 meters, allows easy movement inside the cabin. The forward-moved steering column helps free up exceptional interior space.
Clever and Ergonomic Cockpit Display
The ease of use on board is reflected in the concept’s innovative instrumentation. This new display system avoids expensive, conventional head-up display technology. Instead, information is reflected from flat screens onto a transparent screen with a reflective film. This creates a magical effect where colorful information appears to float transparently across the entire windscreen width. This allows the driver to easily access all necessary data without needing to take their eyes off the road.
Iconic Single-Spoke Steering Wheel
The cockpit is enhanced by a single-spoke steering wheel with a double flat section, a nod to the 1955 DS. This wide opening improves the visibility of the instrumentation significantly. The wheel is equipped with two joystick-shaped buttons for easy control of all digital functions. This design fosters a feeling of serenity and control on board.
Exemplary Modularity and Access
The bold architecture and exceptional modularity grant the ELO a versatility rarely seen in any segment. The second row offers three seats, all featuring folding backrests. The three rear seats are removable and convert into easily transportable outdoor armchairs. Two additional seats are cleverly concealed beneath the side seats in the second row. They unfold simply, nesting slightly behind the driver’s seat to accommodate up to six people comfortably.
Seating and Door Access
Even in the six-seat configuration, the boot space remains unaffected due to the ingenious seat modularity. Access is exceptionally easy due to the wide opening created by four opposite-opening side doors. The absence of a center pillar provides an unhindered opening width of 1.92 meters. A completely flat floor throughout makes it easy to move around inside, regardless of the current seating configuration.
The Personality that Inspires Joy
The ELO immediately exudes a friendly and endearing personality. Its cheerful silhouette makes it a genuine bubble of energy in the automotive landscape. With its “friendly face,” the concept embodies a resolutely joyful and convivial vision of mobility. It becomes more than a vehicle, acting as a companion that brings a smile to everyday life.
Vibrant Orange Hue and Interior
This joyful character is amplified by a vibrant orange hue that changes with the light. The color shifts from orange to red and then to yellow, creating movement and dynamism. The orange color also predominates in the spacious interior, designed as a comfortable, regenerating living space. The C-Zen Lounge cabin features unique architectural choices and materials. The seats feature the iconic “chocolate square” pattern in their foam padding.
Form Dictated by Function
The ELO’s unique silhouette reflects the designers’ commitment to letting function dictate form. This approach resulted in a remarkably versatile vehicle. Its large glass surfaces visually lighten the vehicle and open the interior to the outside environment. The glass area has a particularly low waistline that rises toward the second row, providing exceptional brightness.
Power and Electric Specs for Responsible Mobility
The choice of a 100% electric platform promotes responsible and accessible mobility, aligned with the energy transition. The compact size of the car makes it practical for agile urban use, its preferred terrain. However, it also ventures outside the city easily for breathing space and a change of scenery. The architecture places the motor on the rear axle, helping to control its physical size.
Engine Specs and Core Technology
The vehicle runs on a 100% electric platform, which is designed specifically to maximize interior volume. This electric architecture is crucial for its intended urban use and efficient maneuverability. It utilizes a liquid-cooled 6.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The electric motor is positioned on the rear axle, allowing for the exceptional interior volume. The ELO also includes V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) technology. This feature transforms the vehicle into a base camp capable of powering external devices like electric grills or speakers during leisure activities.
REST – WORK – PLAY: Giving Back Useful Time
A typical car spends almost 95 percent of its time unused and parked. ELO aims to be much more than simple transportation between two points. It is designed to facilitate relaxation, leisure, and work, redefining how time is used. ELO becomes a catalyst for a life in motion, accompanying the multiple, interconnected activities of a single fast-paced day.
The REST Configuration
The comfortable and pleasant on-board space is perfect for resting or waiting. The seat cushions are thick and the large glass surfaces flood the cabin with light. ELO can also transform into a sleeping space for two people or a cozy cinema room. Two mattresses are stored folded in dedicated compartments in the boot, maintaining total load volume. These mattresses use Decathlon’s inflatable Dropstitch material. Once inflated using the on-board compressor, they achieve rigidity without needing special support.
The PLAY Configuration
Wherever the ELO goes, it becomes a base camp offering endless leisure possibilities. The designers collaborated with Decathlon to ensure the vehicle meets outdoor leisure needs. For example, the boot opening can function as a seat for changing shoes after a hike. The removable rear seats convert into extra chairs for outdoor use, a neat nod to the classic Citroën 2CV. An integrated compressor handles inflating accessories like bike tires, buoys, or the Dropstitch mattresses.
The WORK Configuration
The ELO transforms quickly into a comfortable mobile office, supporting hybrid working methods. The driver’s seat, with adapted foam densities, rotates 360 degrees to face the rear. An easily accessible tablet, housed under the central seat in row two, can be attached to the base. This provides a support for a laptop to complete tasks. The instrumentation under the windscreen adapts to relay video conferences and meeting schedules. Pull-out trays in the front wheel arches feature cup holders, further enhancing the mobile office comfort.
Sustainable and Responsible Product Design
The design focused heavily on the sustainability of materials, limiting the overall mass, and reducing the total number of parts. The seat backrest upholstery is made from a durable, easy-to-clean material perfect for leisure use. A durable, washable felt made from surplus Oli concept car fabrics is used for storage boxes. This is manufactured near Lille, France, supporting an eco-responsible approach.
Recycled and Lightweight Materials
Expanded polypropylene is utilized on either side of the driver’s seat. This same lightweight, durable material, composed of 30 percent recycled materials, is used on the lower parts of the bumpers. The material also covers the flat surfaces of the four wings. This identical protection limits the number of body parts. This shared material choice ultimately helps to reduce the vehicle’s overall weight significantly.
GOODYEAR Smart Tires
The collaboration with Goodyear continues, fitting the ELO with specialized tires for leisure and outdoor activities. These are smart tires, featuring the Goodyear SightLine suite of technologies. They measure pressure and wear in real-time, monitored via a dedicated app. An LED integrated into the rim shows instant pressure feedback, green for correct and red for underinflation. The robust tread is engineered to support the ELO’s versatility and adventurous DNA.
Summary of the 2025 Citroën ELO Concept
The 2025 Citroën ELO Concept is a bold, electrified “tiny house” on wheels, redefining versatility and space utilization. Its compact 4.10-meter body hides an ultra-modular interior that can seat up to six people. Key features include the central driver’s seat, the unique transparent instrument display, and the revolutionary REST-WORK-PLAY configurations. Built on a responsible electric platform with sustainable materials, the ELO provides innovative, joyful, and highly adaptable personal mobility.
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Source: Stellantis
