Citroën has launched an innovative and disruptive electric car that could drive the revolution of urban mobility as much as in the use of electric cars.
A light electric vehicle made for the city and everyday journeys, the Citroën Ami – the French word for ‘friend’ – will be available from a revolutionary €6,000 ($A10,190 at today’s rates), or more importantly, for hire at a tiny €20 ($A34 converted) per month.
And it won’t be available through dealerships. Instead, the Ami will be marketed by French retail group FNAC-Darty, via its network of stores and through its website, darty.com.
“For 100 years, Citroën has always been innovative and creative in democratising freedom of movement,” said Citroën CEO Vincent Cobée in a statement.
“This year, Citroën has come up with a new urban mobility solution accessible to everyone: compact, protective, 100% electric, without driving licence, and affordable.
“Ami – 100% electric aims to be a real breakthrough in enabling urban mobility, a solution in sync with new modes of consumption. This great idea was a concept one year ago. We are proud that we have made it happen today. ”
While some are referring to the Citroën Ami as a “city car”, it must be noted that it’s not exactly that. Rather, it is an electric 2-seater “quadricycle” capable of up to 70km driving range, and a top speed of 45km/hr and in France, where it is being launched, legal to drive without a license for 14 year-olds and up.
Citroën engineers have gone all out to minimize the costs of the electric Citroën Ami, seeking economy through a minimal number of body parts, such as the two identical doors on the right and left of the vehicle, which simply open in opposite directions: the passenger door is conventional and the driver’s door has a hinge at the rear. The front and rear bumpers are also identical.
Inside the cabin, function takes prime consideration over comfort. A minimal dash is bereft of dials and nobs, instead providing a space dedicated to the driver’s smartphone through which the driver can interact with the car’s functions.
Driver comfort is not completely forgotten however; a heating system makes journeys comfortable and bringing the Ami experience closer to that of the Smart city car as opposed to Renault’s Twizy.
The Citroën Ami has a 5.5 kWh battery, about half the size of an average plug-in hybrid vehicle thanks to the vehicle’s lightweight and diminutive dimensions.
It is this reduction in vehicle weight that has allowed Citroën to reduce the size of the battery, hence avoiding high costs of what is typically the most expensive and perhaps also the most polluting component of the electric car.
Another advantage of the small battery is that it can be recharged in 3 hours at home from a standard powerpoint.
The Ami will be available to French customers from the end of March via the Darty website, and will start popping up in bricks and mortar stores from the Europan Spring of 2020.
“Driven by our culture of innovation and the power of our omnichannel model, we are now ready to support Citroën in testing out new ways of marketing its vehicles by leveraging our sales areas providing a total customer experience to discover new products,” said Enrique Martinez, CEO of Groupe Fnac Darty in a statement.
“With Ami, we are laying down even deeper roots in the urban mobility market and once again demonstrating our ability to offer innovative products that align with our culture and meet consumer expectations. ”
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.