This is the Citroën Ami, a car that isn’t for sale in Australia.
It’s available in several European markets (including France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, as noted by Drive) and is pitched as a budget quadricycle without many of the expensive aspects of a modern vehicle.
It’s unbelievably cute. Look at it. I cannot believe this thing exists, but I’m glad that it does because it looks like a childhood scribble of mine. Here at Gizmodo Australia, we keep calling it the Bug Car or the Umbrella Car. The Umbrella Car referencing one of the funniest short reviews on the internet:
“The Ami is a rubbish ‘car’, but an endlessly amusing alternative to an umbrella. Very specific, very limited, very lighthearted. Makes you happy for no reason.”
Personally, I learned about its existence from a YouTube recommendation, specifically this walkaround and testing video below. The car has been on sale for a while now in European markets, but I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about it until now. One of our U.S. colleagues wrote this about the offroad concept model of the car, but that’s about all we have on this bug car. Until now. Justice for the Ami.
Also, just as an aside, Ami means “Friend”. It’s a friend that’s shaped like a friend! I love this city-living golf cart.
The car packs two seats, horizontal hinging windows, a loud internal fan (that probably makes up for the lack of engine noise) and an asymmetrical design that looks like a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.
Its top speed is 45 kilometres per hour (not a typo), with a range of about 69 kilometres before needing a recharge (according to Motor Trend). With stats like that, you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s intended for city driving and isn’t allowed on major roads. This is because it’s technically a quadricycle, not a car, but I don’t want Ami’s dreams to be dreams. Let Ami be a car.
The Ami exists to be cheap and small. It costs about €7,000 in France, so about $10,000 in Australia (minus the Australia tax), and is entirely electric with an integrated plug. As in, a cord that’s physically attached to the car that you lead out and plug into mains charging. Like a vacuum cleaner.
The Ami has actually been in the news a bit recently, and not for its cute aesthetics. Recently, our U.S. side reported that the Citroën Ami Buggy sold out in under 18 minutes. Hell yeah, power to the Ami.
I reached out to Citroën Australia to see if there were any updates on the Ami coming to Australia, to which they responded that it’s not available on the Australian market.
Not that it’d make much sense in Australia. Although we have slow-moving roads in major cities, most roads around these cities are still 50 or 60 kilometres per hour. The Ami is simply built different (built for markets that aren’t Australia). Also, don’t even think about taking this car onto a motorway.
Sorry Aussies. Until further notice, the best we’ll get from Citroën is a concept car page on the Australian website. One day we will see the perfection that is the Ami. While we wait, here’s every electric car you can buy in Australia.
This article has been updated since it was originally published.