Citroën has revealed a concept vehicle with body panels made partly from cardboard, and while that sounds like a joke, the engineering rationale behind it is more coherent than the initial reaction might suggest.
The concept, called the Oli, is designed as an exploration of radical lightweighting using sustainable and recyclable materials. The cardboard elements — specifically honeycomb cardboard panels on the hood and roof — are not structural in the traditional sense but are combined with a composite framing that provides rigidity. The material is lightweight, relatively cheap to produce, and significantly more recyclable than the fiberglass, aluminum, or carbon fiber it might otherwise replace.
The broader concept Citroën is exploring with the Oli is one that has genuine merit beyond the provocation of using cardboard: what happens to EV performance and cost if you aggressively reduce vehicle weight rather than simply maximizing battery size? A lighter EV needs a smaller battery to achieve the same range, which reduces cost, reduces the environmental footprint of battery production, and improves dynamics. The automotive industry has generally been moving in the opposite direction — EVs have gotten heavier as manufacturers added battery capacity — and some voices in the engineering community have been arguing that the approach needs to flip.
Citroën has a long history of producing vehicles that challenge conventional assumptions about what a car needs to be. The 2CV and the original DS were both built around unconventional thinking about materials, suspension, and comfort. The Oli fits that tradition even if production cardboard body panels remain a long way from reality. The more interesting question it raises — whether the industry should be lightweighting rather than battery-maximizing — is worth taking seriously regardless of the material choices.
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