Citroën has unveiled ELO, a new 100% electric concept car which foreshadows the way the brand imagines urban mobility and leisure in the years to come.
This laboratory of ideas, in line with the previous Oli, will be presented for the first time at the Salon … in Brussels from January 9 and explores a reinterpretation of the compact minivan into a versatile living space.
With a contained length of 4.10 meters, the Citroën ELO is “the little one who thinks big”: an urban-sized minivan which benefits from a 100% electric architecture with a motor on the rear axle to offer a very spacious interior and a completely flat floor.
The driving position is located in the central front position, with 180° rotating seat and windshield, and can be changed from 4 to 6 seater configuration thanks to two additional seats hidden in the second row.
The four oppositely opening doors and the absence of a central pillar facilitate access to a cabin designed like an authentic mobile living room.
The ELO is designed as a modular living space rather than a simple means of transport. The brand structures its concept in three uses —REST, PLAY, WORK— which allow the interior to be transformed into a rest space, a leisure center or a small mobile office. The vehicle can become a bed for two people thanks to two folding mattresses in Dropstitch material developed in collaboration with Decathlon, integrated into the trunk without reducing the loading volume.
It can also be configured as a cinema room with projector and retractable screen, taking advantage of the large glazed area and the roof opening at the rear.
In work mode, the driver’s seat rotates 360° and is associated with a removable tray that serves as a computer table. The instrumentation projected on a transparent screen along the windshield allows the display of driving information or, when stationary, video conferences and the agenda. Hidden trays in the interior wheel arches and various storage spaces complete an approach intended for intensive use of the car also when parked.
Responsible materials and smart tires
The Citroën ELO was designed as a responsible object, with particular attention paid to the durability of materials, the reduction of parts and mass. It uses, among other things, washable felts made from surplus from the Oli concept, easy-to-clean plastics and areas of expanded polypropylene similar to that used by Decathlon in bicycle helmets, with recycled content and fully recyclable. The rear seats are removable and can be used as outdoor chairs, a nod to the historic 2CV and folding camping chairs.
Citroën ELO
The collaboration with Goodyear offers Eagle Xplore smart tires, designed for everyday use and off-road escapades. These tires measure pressure and wear in real time, indicate their condition using an LED integrated into the rim (green when the pressure is correct, red when it is insufficient) and combine a low rolling resistance zone with another orange elastic aimed at improving grip.
The vehicle also incorporates V2L (Vehicle to Load) technology, which allows powering external devices – such as an electric barbecue or camping accessories – and reinforces its role as a mobile base camp.
With the ELO, Citroën is using an urban, accessible and spacious concept car to put forward specific proposals on the modular interior, new uses of time on board and more sustainable materials, anticipating possible solutions for its future production models.
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