Volkswagen and Stellantis used this week's Paris auto show to make an unlikely pitch for the electric future: nostalgia. Facing a growing wave of cheaper, increasingly sophisticated Chinese electric vehicles, Europe's two auto giants unveiled retro-styled EVs and admitted they are now learning from the very rivals once dismissed as copycats.
Nostalgia as a weapon against China
Stellantis unveiled an electric version of the iconic Citroen 2CV, the beloved people's car produced from 1948 to 1990, while Volkswagen's new electric Polo borrows heavily from the 1980s golden era of the Golf — complete with an optional retro dashboard mode that mimics a classic speedometer. Renault already proved the formula works: the electric Renault 5, first launched in 1972, is the best-selling mid-sized EV in Europe this year and helped lift the group's first-half revenue by 9%.
"We're looking to differentiate ourselves and also to evoke a certain emotional response," Renault Group design chief Laurens van den Acker said. Heritage, it turns out, is one asset China's newer entrants cannot readily replicate.
The student becomes the teacher
Beyond the show cars, the bigger story was cooperation. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa told reporters the group is using its joint ventures with China's Leapmotor and Dongfeng to study how Chinese manufacturers achieve their technology edge. Stellantis entered a production tie-up with Leapmotor earlier this year and plans another with Dongfeng, with partnerships set to be localized to satisfy incoming "Made in Europe" regulations. A mid-sized electric SUV for the Opel brand is already being developed with Leapmotor, and Opel CEO Florian Huettl praised the "remarkable speed" of the project.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume — who has called China an industry "fitness centre" — told an industry conference in Paris he sees no current need for a Chinese joint venture in Europe, though its Xpeng partnership continues to focus on the Chinese market. Analyst Stefan Bratzel of Germany's Center of Automotive Management put it bluntly: "For years it was the Chinese who learned from the Germans. Now that process has to be reversed."
Why the urgency is real
Chinese manufacturers including BYD and Geely already commanded nearly 11% of the European market in the second quarter of 2026, according to Schmidt Automotive Research, with models that frequently undercut European brands on price while offering increasingly advanced technology. But Europe's EV transition has accelerated in recent months, spurred by rising fuel prices and more affordable models. "We are seeing how the BEV is getting traction that we were not expecting one year ago," said Danilo Annese, CEO of Leapmotor International.
Not everyone is convinced the pace is fast enough. "They don't need concepts. They need production. Now, not in two years," warned analyst Felipe Munoz of Car Industry Analysis.
The bottom line: Europe's carmakers have finally stopped pretending they can beat Chinese EVs on cost alone — and are fighting back with the two things money can't buy overnight: heritage and hard-won partnerships with the Chinese themselves.
Watch: Nevo EV Review's first look at the electric Citroen 2CV Concept at the Paris Motor Show 2026
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Electrodoodle (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Reuters, Free Malaysia Today, Daily Sabah