At around £6k the Citroen Ami is the most significant EV breakthrough moment for Brit consumers, says Mike Rutherford
How’s this for a run of events? Last winter, the Citroen Ami wins its first major trophy: World Vehicle of the Year. By early summer it’s got the Auto Express Technology Award. Then, in August at the British Motor Show, car nuts queued to see the most talked about and photographed vehicle there.
A few weeks later came the happiest story of the year: Citroen will sell the Ami in the UK. It’s expected to have a cash price of about £6,000. Plus, the firm told me that although mobile phone-like, circa-£40-a-month contracts may be offered here as in France, such deals require deposits of a grand or three. Low or no-deposit contracts appeal more to Brits, even if this means payments of nearer £80 a month. Either way, this car at these prices is the most significant EV breakthrough moment ever for Brit consumers.
We never did have the cash, or hunger, for the worthy but ugly original Nissan Leaf launched at £30,000 a decade ago. A few years later the smaller, prettier VW e-up! at nearly £24,000 (almost twice as much as the basic version) also failed to hit the spot. And although today’s mid-sized pure-electric family cars from firms such as Hyundai, Kia and Skoda are credible, some of ’em carry £50,000 price tags. Ouch!
Though very different, the stripped-out Ami’s imminent arrival in the UK means long-overdue change (and then some) for pure-EV accessibility and affordability. Bucking the tradition of EVs being almost twice the price of their ICE equivalents, the new-tech Ami is poised to start a price revolution by wading in as THE least expensive new vehicle on the market, period.
Read more: Auto Express
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