Last week saw the 91st Paris Motor Show take place in… well, Paris. Not being in attendance, I experienced the show the same way most people did, via the wall-to-wall coverage provided by myriad gurning influencers, all there as valued guests of the Fantastic Motor Co who just so happen to be launching this REALLY COOL new car called the SUVXCrossoverPlusEV, before going to an actual news publication for a condensed summary of anything actually interesting. While reading about everything I’d missed, I noticed something quite interesting; almost every new car concept at the show, was somehow old.
Audi had resurrected the A2 nameplate from the late 90s, Fiat showcased a brand new Multipla (called the ‘Multiplay’ for some reason), Smart announced that they were going to build the ForTwo again, and Alfa Romeo eschewed the modern trend of electric SUVs to give us the decidedly rearward-looking Cuorerosso sports saloon, complete with… no that can’t be right… a petrol engine? Of course, being the Paris Motor Show, the land of brie and baguettes took centre stage with Peugeot, Renault and Citroen all bringing homages to their extensive back catalogues.
Peugeot first, who appear to perhaps be a little bit late to the party. In the wake of the surprisingly successful relaunch of the Renault 5 as an electric city car, Peugeot have finally pulled their finger out and delivered their own competitor. Oh yes folks, the Peugeot 205 is back. And not just any old 205. Back in the 80s to compete in Group B, Peugeot built a special mid-engined, four-wheel-drive 205 called the T16, and it’s that model name they’ve decided to dredge up forty years later. Naturally it’s all-wheel-drive, but as a nod to their rally heritage, there’s a hydraulic handbrake, aggressive looking bucket seats, a roll cage and a rear clamshell that lifts up to show off your… well, there’s no engine so… rear subframe, I suppose.
So, what about Renault’s riposte? Well, they’ve already raided their own Group B heritage for the Renault 5 Turbo 3E, a wide-arched, rear-drive, 540 horsepower supercar slayer. Something new then. How about an oddity from the 1960s? Yes, that ought to do it. Say hello to the Renault 8 Gordini, a two-door, two-seat sports coupe that looks like someone’s spent a little too long with the Photoshop morph tool. There isn’t a single panel that hasn’t been pumped up, scooped out or creased to create an admittedly fun throwback to one of the first sports saloons. Sounds good, eh? Well, you can’t have one. Renault says they’re not going to build it. Better trot out a car they ARE going to build as well, I suppose. Here, have a new Espace.
Perhaps the most egregious perpetrator this year was Citroen. I’m sure you’ve seen it by now, but if you haven’t then say hello to the new 2CV. Available either in cloth-top hatchback form or as a suitably French stereotype-looking Fourgonnette van, the all-new 2CV is… Oh come on… why am I doing this. Why are THEY doing this? Why is everything just a retro pastiche now? These especially are all cars that people half remember from sixty years ago that, if we’re honest, weren’t much good in the first place. So why?
The answer is ‘panic’. Back in the early 2000s, the car market was changing rapidly. The 90s were over, cars were becoming more complicated and the shonky build quality of Peugeots, Fords and Rovers was no longer forgivable as charm. For the average motorist, this wasn’t really a problem, because the Japanese and Korean manufacturers were here. No longer were these low-number grey market imports, by the year 2000, Honda, Toyota and Nissan all had manufacturing facilities in the UK, churning out cheap, reliable, no-brainer alternatives to the European stalwarts. In a panic, the European companies played their ace card; Heritage. “Hey! Remember the Mini? Remember how good the Mini was? Here’s a brand NEW Mini! What about the Beetle? You had a Beetle as you first car, didn’t you? Well, there’s a NEW Beetle now. Hey, Fiat, have you finished those 500s yet?” And it worked. The new Mini and Fiat 500 were sales successes (shockingly, so was the Beetle, given how fugly it was) and the European car market survived into the next decade.
And of course, here we are again. Time is, indeed, a flat circle. This time the ‘invading enemy’ is China. You see, alongside the new concepts from Peugeot, Renault and Citroen were stands for BYD, Denza, Omoda, Geely and Leapmotor, all churning out white-good family cars at price points well below their European equivalents. And it’s not just on the show floor where the Chinese companies have gained significant ground. Do you know what the best-selling new car in the UK is right now? The Jaecoo 7. that’s a car from a company that didn’t exist three years ago. No, really, Jaecoo was founded in April 2023, and they’ve already successfully pulled down the pants of every car maker west of Finland. It’s not hard to see why either, if you look at this from the perspective of someone who really doesn’t care about cars (i.e. 90% of the population), why would I spend £35,000 on a Volkswagen hatchback, when for £6,000 less, I can have a big modern SUV that looks a bit like a posh Range Rover? And so, blighted by a glut of opponents that seem to spring up faster than a rigged game of Buckaroo, European manufacturers have been forced to hit the ‘Heritage’ button once more because really, it’s the only selling point they have.
Is this the death knell for the European car industry? I don’t think so, no. What it might mean, however, is more brands going the way of MG, Lotus, and Polestar and becoming absorbed into these larger conglomerates like Chery and Geely. As they say, if you can’t beat ‘em…
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