Gone in 70 seconds: Citroens tiny electric runabout sells out in record time

A tiny electric city runabout with no doors and plastic side windows has sold out in Europe in record time. But the oversized scooter won’t be sold in Australia.

A tiny French electric car shaped like a toy – and which looks like it could tip over at any moment – has sold out in record time in Europe.

The short-range, two-seat electric vehicle – a modern ‘Mini Moke’ designed to commute to the shops, the office or the beach – costs from €7790 to €10,490 in Europe (the equivalent of $12,600 to $17,000 in Australian currency).

However the vehicle is too small and too slow to be eligible for registration on Australian roads, and would not pass our stringent safety standards.

It has a maximum driving range of 75km and a top speed of 50km/h.

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A total of 800 examples of the Citroen ‘My Ami Buggy’ – which is not much bigger than a golf cart – sold out in Europe in 10 hours earlier this week.

One customer was so keen he completed the online transaction in 70 seconds, according to the French car-maker.

Data from Citroen claims:

• In Belgium, 65 examples of the car sold in less than nine minutes
• In France, 300 examples sold out in one hour
• Spain had “the fastest customer, who completed the entire purchasing process in just one minute and 10 seconds”

Citroen says the 800 of the special edition vehicles were sold online to customers in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, the UK, Luxembourg and Greece.

A further 200 examples will be sold in showrooms in Turkey, Morocco and some French overseas territories.

Meanwhile, Citroen in Australia can only dream of such popularity.

According to the latest sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Citroen has sold fewer than 100 cars across its entire model range in Australia so far this year, down 38 per cent in a market that has grown by 4.3 per cent.

Citroen’s dismal sales tally of 97 vehicles in Australia from the start of January to the end of May was almost eclipsed by Ferrari, with 91 supercars reported as sold over the same period.

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