Small enough to park in the bed of a Ford 150 pick-up truck, the Citroën Ami PIEV is not something you will find on the roads of the USA anytime soon, but maybe you should.
In much of the world, small, cheap, light and easy to park city cars have been a popular fixture in the crowded streets and narrow village roads of Europe and Asia for decades. From pint-sized and cute Japanese Kei Cars to racy EU Quadricycles and various points between, the likes of Citroën 2CV, Fiat 500, Daihatsu Copen, SMART ForTwo and various other micro cars capable of being lifted by strong children to fit tight parking spots won hearts and minds with their economy, style and ability to carry groceries.
Some smaller than golf carts, it’s a no-brainer to electrify this class of vehicles, but until recently, the cost, size and weight made Li ion battery powered versions a pricy proposition for the class.
Enter the e-scooter, e-skateboard and e-bike sharing revolution, when suddenly, really small and cheap EV transportation changed the minds of young people on a budget about buying cars (who needs one?) and the fledgeling share-car market (seeded with EQ ForTwo and Renault Twizy) got a boost.
Enter Citroën, ever the car design iconoclast to shake things up with their Ami ONE concept conceived as an EV share car:
A hit at car shows in 2019, a production model in simplified form soon took shape and answered the question: What happens when a Citroën 2CV and Type H van have a cute little baby?
With two doors, no frunk or trunk, and an optional sunroof (for private models), the Ami maximizes interior space of the cabin on a tiny ev skateboard FWD drivetrain that reaches the blinding speed of 42kmH/26miH with a range of 70km/43mi. This 6kW motored brute of a Tesla Killer reaches a full charge in 3 hours anywhere you can find a 220V 1ø household socket to charge the 5.5kwH Li Ion batteries.
Admit it: you would look badass driving one of these in a video posted to your Tik-Tok or YouTube channel.
Maria Romualdo, concierge Å Pigalle, sure does when cruising her Ami ❤️ PARIS Pigalle edition around the mean streets of her beloved arrondissement.
Certainly MME Romualdo does not battle it out with Semis on the Interstate or do doughnuts at sideshows in this thing, but I dare you to find a parking space for your Suburban or Humvee in her ‘hood. Much of humanity lives in places where 50 mile commutes on LA freeways are not a thing, and short distance trips on surface streets out of biking range only happen occasionally, so who even needs to own a car?
Which is the main point. Citroën does not plan to sell most of the Amis they produce to individuals, but to share-car companies such as EU partner Free2Move and other commercial users for basic transportation (although, so far, they have plenty of takers for private use since introduction in June 2020).
Priced in the range of €6,000~7,360, leased for €19.99 per month (about $22) or rented using a smartphone app for €9.9 per month plus €0.26 per minute, this is cheap + green transportation.
It is a simple, cheap and no frills car that uses your smartphone as a GPS map, and adds a basic car to the mix of share bikes, eBikes, eScooters you can rent using a share app. And in some European countries, if you are 14 or older, you can drive one and don’t even need a driver’s license.
That makes it a Tesla Killer. At least for people who can’t afford, don’t want or don’t need a Tesla, or any other EV as a personal possession and obligation, a large and growing market.
The model of future transportation Tesla et al are selling us is one where we have big, fast, heavy, expensive luxury EVs with autonomous driving and other expensive features that are overkill for basic transportation. In the next step, ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft will migrate to unmanned, autonomous vehicles (firing all the drivers that did the investing to start their business), and we will live happily ever after with nothing to do but sit and stare.
Do we really need that overkill?
If the USA is going to Build Back Better, does that mean rebuilding the past with the same shit in a new can, or will we change our lifestyle to fit a smaller world?
What has COVID-19 taught us about how work and life are changing, and the possibilities to restart with some change for the better?
As we get back to the new normal, we certainly won’t be making radical changes in the short term, but if we look at how Gen Z kids already approach life, they have largely transitioned to a lifestyle more centered on communications and online socialization, and less on aspirational materialism. That is scary for the purveyors of McMansions and SUVs, but the future has to be smaller and more sustainable or we’re screwed.
So what’s it like to drive these things? A few hot takes, from the usual suspects. In British English.
Our Fully Charged host Robert Liewellyn has some fun:
His ex-mate and partner in crime, Car Pervert Jonny Smith:
OK, enough mansplaining, Supercar Blondie interviews Citroën designer Kate Mouilleron + a 2CV
Electroheads do the couples thing.
Gadgetboy shows off his lethal 3-prong UK plug. Check the driver side suicide door!
Car Throttle ... Heh. Heh. Heh:
And some company propaganda
Great idea to customize them for cities/districts
Make mine Mouffetard with a soft top. The full Ami ❤️ PARIS gallery is here.
We interrupt this message for a Microcar Porn break …
So, you ask: why doesn’t GM make something like this?
Glad you asked.
Kind of big, but it’s a start.
Edited 2021.03.30 to refresh dead links to YouTube videos.