It’s not a car, it’s a Quadricycle
Given that an EV is so impractical for long road trips, and is a “second car”, it makes some sense to have effectively a two seater shopping trolley, covered with plastic. At the moment, there is some loophole in the UK where this is allowed on the road, but doesn’t require a drivers license. Bureaucrats are bound to change that any second.
It looks ideally suited to slow London and Paris traffic and tight parking spots. But in higher speed Australian and US cities, I suspect accident stats would look ominous if the 485 kg plastic buggy met a two ton SUV at normal driving speeds. Not that it can do normal driving speeds. At 40km/hr top speed, its probably too slow to be legal on Australian roads, and too fast to be legal on sidewalks.
The sunroof is cute in cold climates, but here in Aus it might cause second degree burns and heat stroke in January. It has a 6kW motor and 5.5kWh battery pack — can it run an airconditioner AND a motor for half an hour?
I would be amazed if this were legal to drive unlicensed (or even licensed) on most Australian roads, but I haven’t asked. It may “take off” in Europe like the Mini did during an oil price crisis. There are no right hand drive options. Here in the vast suburbs, with a top speed of 45km/hr it will be hated by every other driver. Perfect for school zones though.
From Tonyb in comments:
No, don’t laugh, but is this the future of Electric cars, because whether we like it or not, the EV is the way most countries are heading. The Citroen Ami comes to the UK in a few months after taking Europe by storm(ish)
Its a 2 seater that will do 43 miles (60km) on a charge which apparently covers the majority of journeys. I can see it in urban places but not to drive across country, but it wouldn’t be legal anyway on our motorways. Top speed 28mph (40km/h).
The thing is that for an electric car its very cheap at around £6000. Most electric cars over here are around £25/35,000. So it becomes realistic as a second town car and you keep your grown up fossil fuel one. At £30,000 the EV is likely to be your only vehicle and an EV as a first car is unlikely to be a good idea.
So, would it work in Oz’s urban centres?
Unlikely to be available in Australia
There is a webpage with a “.au” domain, and perhaps a theoretical Australian sort of model, with a canvas roof, and a top speed of “45km/hr”. CarPrice suggests it costs $8k in Australia. I doubt it is sold here at all. Wheels Mag had it on their wish list last November.
The Citroen AU page ought to be reported for false advertising, claiming that it works “without emitting CO2”. In Australia that would only apply to homes with solar that only charge at lunchtime, or in SA on a windy day (but not during a storm). Otherwise, it’s 60% fossil fueled.