PARIS - Citroen has a new vehicle it hopes will reach a market most major carmakers have not tapped - drivers as young as 14.
The French carmaker's tiny two-seater Citroen Ami is powered by a modest 6kW electric motor, so under French legislation it can be driven by someone as young as 14 and no driving licence is required.
The vehicle has a 45 km/h top speed, its bodywork is plastic and it has a no-frills interior.
But it has features likely to appeal to tech-savvy teenagers and is on sale alongside smartphones and video games consoles in a major chain of French electronics stores.
In France, to buy the most basic version will cost 6000 euros (R120 000). Citroen said it has so far taken 1000 orders for the vehicle from customers in France.
"The first client who came ... was a teenager and his dad," said Olivier Garcia, head of products for French electronics retailer Fnac Darty.
He said they were looking for a safer alternative to an electric scooter or a moped, the usual modes of transport young French people use to zip around cities.
"So that's a share of our customers that is not negligible," said Garcia.
Furthermore, over 100 Ami cars will be available for carsharing in Paris from mid-September, as part of the Free2Move fleet.
To honour the Parisian districts, 20 cars have been dressed in the colours of 20 iconic districts of the French capital.
Reuters