Citroen has confirmed that its Ami microcar WILL go on sale in the UK, after more than 12,000 UK customers registered their interest in the dinky electric two-seater.
Set to go on sale in spring of 2022, customers who registered their interest have been invited to reserve their Ami with a £250 refundable reservation fee.
The Ami isn’t a ‘real’ car as such, and will be registered as a quadricycle – think of it like a Renault Twizy, only with proper doors and side-by-side seating. Like the Twizy, a full car licence will be required to drive the Ami in the UK, though – unlike in its native France, where children as young as 14 can get behind the wheel.
Eurig Druce, managing director of Citroen UK, said: “I am absolutely delighted to announce that Citroen AMI is launching in the UK. With cities and urban areas introducing stricter limits for vehicles, and people demanding new mobility solutions, AMI shows once again how Citroen is adapting to meet the demands of the times.
“Citroen AMI is a new all-electric mobility solution for the UK that’s totally unique – fun, exciting and accessible to all.”
Citroen says it’s the future of personal mobility, and perfectly suited for city dwellers. For us, what really excites is the potential for really exciting finance deals.
In France, where the Ami is currently available, customers can pick up a long-term rental from €19.99 per month (around £17) over 48 months with an initial payment of €2,644 (£2,220), pay-as-you-go from €0.26/min (22p per minute) plus a monthly fee of €9.90 (£8.30), or buy one outright for €6,000 (around £5,000).
UK pricing and finance packages remain unknown so far – they’ll be revealed closer to the car’s on-sale date.
Built for the cities
According to Citroen, the Ami is a mobility solution that’s environmentally sound as well as safer and more usable than the usual scooters, bicycles and mopeds you see in city centres, while being perfectly-sized for city drivers.
UK models will remain left-hand drive, though as it’s so small and narrow with excellent visibility this is unlikely to cause too many problems. Step-through access from either seat is also a feature.
Perfectly sized in this instance means it’s tiny, measuring a mere 2.41m in length. You can fit two in a traditionally-sized parking bay.
It also has a tiny 5.5kWh lithium-ion battery, but because it’s so small it still has a claimed driving range of 43 miles – though maximum speed is just 28mph.
The Ami can be recharged from a three-pin socket in around three hours, intended to make it usable by people who can’t easily get access to a proper electric car charger.
Cheap to charge, and to fix
It’s cute and cuddly as you’d expect for a car with a name that translates into English as ‘Friend’, but it’s also been designed to be cheap to fix, should the worst happen.
The side windows and doors are the same on both sides, and the front and rear bumpers, the bottoms of the bumpers and under-body panels are also identical.
Being a lightweight quadricycle, its crash safety standards may not meet those of conventional small passenger cars, however. We’ll await the Euro NCAP test before passing judgement.
Does it come in different models?
There are seven versions to choose from, and it’s available with a variety of options to make the ‘car’ your own – including storage nets, mats, a smartphone clip, a dongle which connects live data to your Ami smartphone app.
There are also two packs to choose from – My Ami Pop and My Ami Vibe.
What this means for you
We’ve been lucky enough to experience a Citroen Ami in the UK, and absolutely adored it. However, with such a limited top speed, there’s no denying that even with considerable customer interest it’s destined to remain a niche option.
But with cities such as London, Edinburgh and Bristol becoming more hostile towards traditional cars with petrol and diesel engines, vehicles like this could represent a real opportunity to maintain your mobility without the pain of congestion charging and the like.
So if you do like the sound of one, register your interest and put a deposit down.
