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Rise of the electric city cars

Electric micro-mobility is becoming a big business, with a growing number of microcars looking to appeal to city drivers.

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While there’s a lot of noise about electric cars, and debate about the pace at which the world is shifting from fossil-fuel cars to EVs, there’s one aspect of electrification that hasn’t gained as much attention. It’s the sheer variety of mobility options that electric power has given us, dispelling the idea that we all need conventional cars in which to get around.

Electric micro-mobility is becoming a big business. But what do we mean by micro-mobility? Well, pretty much any kind of transport that is smaller than a conventional car. So it covers electrically-assisted bicycles, electric scooters, electric mopeds and motorbikes, and so-called ‘microcars’ or ‘nanocars’.

All of these vehicles ca fill particular niches in urban environments, where total journeys may only be a few miles but may not be well served on a bus or train, or in a taxi. Many UK and European cities already have a vibrant offering of rental e-bikes and e-scooters, which can be very convenient for short trips across the city if you don’t have any luggage to carry, and the market for electric mopeds is also steadily growing – although you’re still exposed to the elements and not able to carry much in the way of baggage. So the next step up is the microcar.

These tiny electric city cars are classified as quadricycles, which means they don’t have to meet many of the legal standards for safety that conventional cars do. However, that does allow them to be much smaller and lighter than normal cars – about half the size and less than half the weight – making them exceptionally cheap to run.

Small is beautiful

In cities like London or Manchester, the number of cars queued throughout the streets with one or two people on board creates enormous congestion. Not only while getting from A to B, but also parked up on the side of the road or in car parks. And every year, cars get longer, wider, taller and heavier – making the clogging of our cities even worse.

We have seen various attempts at making very small cars, most notably from the Mercedes-owned brand, Smart. The original Smart Fortwo was a genuine attempt to address increasing congestion with a small city car. But over three generations, it also got bigger and heavier as it was required to comply with tougher environmental and safety legislation.

With the rapidly advancing technology in electric vehicle, however, we’re starting to see fresh attempts to build tiny electric city cars. Electric power creates opportunities to reduce size, as electric motors and relatively small batteries take up much less space than a petrol engine plus a gearbox plus a fuel tank plus an exhaust system and all the other associated bits that a petrol-powered car needs.

The first attempts at electric city cars came a couple of decades ago, with dreadful vehicles like the G-Wiz. Because they were categorised as quadricyles (like a quad bike) rather than cars, they didn’t have to meet the same safety criteria that all cars do. And as a result, they weren’t fitted with much in the way of even basic safety equipment, resulting in at least one death in London in what was a very low-speed collision.

Thankfully, things have moved on and there are now several manufacturers entering the electric city car market. They are still categorised as quadricycles rather than cars, but the standard of vehicle is now much higher.

Renault offered the Twizy for about a decade, which sat two people in a tandem arrangement. However, that model was discontinued a couple of years ago. A successor is apparently on the cards but UK availability has not been announced.

The biggest name to launch into the world of electric city cars is Stellantis, one of the world’s largest car companies, through its brands Citroën and Fiat. Citroën has made a lot of noise about its smallest model, the Ami, which launched a couple of years ago and is now available in the UK. The Ami also forms the basis for a new model from Fiat, the Topolino, which is likely to arrive next year.

The sounds of Silence

Having an automotive colossus like Stellantis in the microcar market gives it far more credibility than it has had in the past, but the Citroën Ami and Fiat Topolino are not necessarily the class leaders in this sector.

A new player is Spanish manufacturer Silence, which is owned by colossal infrastructure and energy company, Acciona. Backed by Nissan, Silence produces a couple of electric mopeds and has now launched a microcar called the S04, which will be sold in the UK through Nissan dealers later this year.

The Silence S04 follows a similar formula to the Citroën Ami and Renault Twizy, being a very short and narrow two-seater vehicle. How short and narrow? The S04 and Twizy are just 2.3m long, with the Ami being slightly longer at 2.4m. To give you an idea of how small that it, that’s shorter than the original 1998 Smart Fortwo (2.5m long). Even the original 1959 Mini was three metres long…

In terms of width, the Silence, Renault and Citroën all clock in at about 1.3m wide, which is again narrower than an old Mini (1.4m) or the original Smart (1.5m).

When you compare these nanocars with a traditional supermini hatchback, the scale is even more impressive. They’re a staggering 40% shorter than a Volkswagen Polo, for example, which is just over four metres long, and nearly 30% narrower. They’re also about 60% lighter, depending on specification.

Having such a small footprint means that nanocar designers have to get creative with packaging. The Twizy arranged its occupants in a tandem seating arrangement, with the passenger directly behind the driver and with a very limited view. The S04 and Ami have a staggered side-by-side layout with the driver slightly ahead of the passenger, which gives a bit more room for twirling the steering wheel without banging elbows.

Is the Silence S04 the ultimate city car?

The Silence S04 recently had its global media launch at Acciona’s headquarters in Madrid, which The Car Expert attended. What was surprising is how much the S04 looks to have moved the microcar goalposts compared to the more basic Citroën Ami.

Despite being slightly shorter in overall length, the S04 offers slightly more cabin space (although it’s obviously still pretty cosy) and a creditable amount of boot space at 247 litres. That’s 37 litres more than you get on a brand-new electric Mini Cooper three-door hatchback, and about 247 litres more than you get in a Citroën Ami, which doesn’t have a boot at all.

The clever packaging of the S04 is made possible thanks to its two electric motors. Unlike the Ami, which uses a conventional single electric motor in the front of the car, the S04 has two small motors mounted inside the rear wheels. These in-wheel motors take up less space while providing better performance. They also allow better control for stability in slippery conditions, as the left and right wheels can be controlled separately depending on how much grip each has available.

But the Silence S04’s biggest party trick is having two removable batteries. These are two cubes with integrated wheels and handles, a bit like a pair of small suitcases, which are mounted under the seats. They can simply be popped out and wheeled away to be charged or swapped (Silence has a rapidly expanding battery swap network of 140 stations throughout Spain’s biggest cities, and is planning to offer something similar in major UK cities once it commences sales later this year).

Those batteries give the S04 an official driving range of up to 90 miles, which is about twice as far as the Ami. For a car that’s never likely to leave the city, that’s likely to be plenty since you can remove the batteries to charge them at home, thereby overcoming one of the regular complaints of EVs in cities. A word of warning, though – each battery pack weighs about 40kg, so you’re not going to be lugging it up flights of stairs. You’ll need either an elevator or a ground-floor plug.

Silence S04 vs Citroën Ami vs Fiat Topolino electric city cars

The biggest difference between the Silence S04 and the Stellantis twins (the Citroën Ami and Fiat Topolino are essentially the same car with a few visual differences) is the price.

As of July 2024, Citroën Ami prices run from £7,700 to £8,700 depending on specification. UK pricing for the Fiat Topolino has not been announced, but is likely to start at around £8,000 as well. The Silence S04, however, will start at £15,000. That could stop a lot of potential customers in their tracks.

Now, the S04 has a lot going for it over the Ami and Topolino, so the price difference can be explained away quite logically. You get more cabin space, and a proper boot with decent luggage space, which makes the S04 as usable around town as a much bugger car. You get twice as much driving range, plus a pair of removable batteries so you don’t have to worry about not having access to an on-street or public charging point. That makes it a viable option for far more people than any other EV.

You get many more comfort features – like proper doors, proper windows that are even electric, electric mirrors, keyless access via your smartphone, and so on.

You also get more performance and better brakes, which means the S04 is better able to keep up with the cut and thrust of city traffic. The lower-spec L6e version has a top speed of just 28mph, same as the Ami and with similarly sluggish acceleration, while the higher-spec L7e (an extra £1,000) claims a top speed of 54mph and far more rapid acceleration. In reality, you wouldn’t want to take any of these cars beyond a 30mph zone. The L7e’s advantage is its better acceleration rather than a higher top speed.

Still, that price point looks high when Dacia is about to launch the all-electric Spring, a proper electric car, for the same starting price as the S04. It will be basic, but it will seat four people with more boot space and offer an official driving range of 140 miles, with a top speed that’s (just barely) compatible with UK motorway speed limits. Yes, it’s a different sort of vehicle and it will cost more to run, but its larger size is likely to appeal more to private customers who are looking for a conventional car.

Where the Silence S04 is likely to do well is with inner-city businesses, like couriers, who will benefit from its tiny size and tiny running costs. There will be a dedicated single-seat cargo version, as we’ve also seen with the Ami and Twizy, where the passenger seat is replaced with more cargo space.

Another key target market will be moped riders who want to move up to the relative comfort of a covered cabin, but without the bulk and running costs of a normal car. Citroën has been promoting the Ami as an alternative to scooters and mopeds rather than as an alternative to regular cars, and Silence is likely to do well in the same market.

A bright future for electric mobility

We’ve only had a short drive of the S04 through Madrid, but it was clear that it’s a step ahead of the Citroën Ami in pretty much every way. Once we’ve had the benefit of a longer drive on UK roads, we’ll update you with a more comprehensive review.

What’s clear is that electric power is able to give us a big step forward in urban mobility. Whether you want an eco-friendly electric moped instead of a traditional petrol-powered Vespa, an electrically-assisted bicycle to help you stay fit while making your cross-town commute a lot easier, an e-scooter that’s quicker and more fun than catching a tube or bus, or a microcar that’s a real buzz for zipping around the city, the EV revolution is creating all sorts of exciting possibilities.

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Stuart Masson
Stuart Massonhttps://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/
Stuart is the Editorial Director of our suite of sites: The Car Expert, The Van Expert and The Truck Expert. Originally from Australia, Stuart has had a passion for cars and the automotive industry for over thirty years. He spent a decade in automotive retail, and now works tirelessly to help car buyers by providing independent and impartial advice.