The company will target private buyers and small businesses, pitching the Microlino as a second car for commuting and running errands.
Like the Ami, it will be offered in left-hand drive only, owing to the cost and complexity of flipping the door. Ouboter added that the vehicle’s narrowness and bench seat mean right-hand drive is unnecessary anyway, because “it’s very easy to just scooch over and reach for a parking ticket”.
He said the Microlino will sit in a class of its own and noted the Ami is the only comparable proposition currently on offer in the UK. However, he rejected the notion that it was a true rival, saying: “The UK does sell some Citroën Amis, which is an L6e, meaning that it’s limited to 45kph [28mph].
“What we primarily want to focus on in the UK is on the category L7e, which goes up to 90kph [56mph]. We think this is much more a replacement of a car than something that drives only 45kph. And so, in that category, actually, there is not so many competitors.”
Ouboter also implied that the Microlino’s unibody construction and sub-500kg weight would make it a more compelling proposition than the Ami, “which is really built more like a motorcycle with plastic panels around it”.
