French automaker Citroen has revealed the Ami – 100% electric car for Europe that costs just about $6000 (around ₹4.76 lakh). What makes it more special is that you can drive the Ami at a monthly subscription charge of $22 (about ₹1500), or rent one by the minute for as little as 0.26 Euros (around ₹20) via Free2Move car-sharing platform.
Pricing is intended to make the Ami EV competitive with public transportation.
The car’s low price is made possible by eliminating frills. There are no roll-down windows, the front and rear fascias are interchangeable, and the company uses the same door on both sides. On 0ne side it opens forward and on the other side it opens toward the rear of the car.
The car is a 2-seater with a 5.5 kWh lithium-ion battery mounted under the floor that can recharge in 3 hours using a normal (in Europe) 220 volt wall outlet.
It has a range of 70 kilometers (42 miles) and a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). Being short and narrow, it is easy to navigate through city traffic and easy to park when you get where you are going.
The Citroen Ami is a small city car and classifies as a “light quadricycle” and with such limited performance, no driver’s license is required. People as young as 14 can drive one in France and as young as 16 in other European countries.
Think of it as a weatherproof motor scooter with 4 wheels and no emissions.
Coming to the Indian market, Citroen is set to launch is first model for the market, the C5 Aircross SUV, later this year. The brand’s first dealerships are nearing completion with the carmaker eyeing to have its first dealerships operational by the time of the SUV’s launch. The carmaker has also begun testing a compact SUV for India.
Reference- Car&Bike (Auto NDTV), Citroen website, Clean Technica, Daily Mail, Autocar India