Citroen Ami One Concept Car - A Vision for The Future

What is The Citroen Ami One?

It’s one of Citroen’s proudest achievements, but it’s not just a car. Citroen claims it’s the way forward, a vision of urban mobility if you will. The Ami One aims to revolutionize the way we look at personal transport and getting around, by introducing several clever technologies and concepts never before seen in the automotive industry.

Cost Effective and Simple

As cities get more crowded and the cost of living goes up, we’re going to require new and innovative ways of urban mobility. Citroen designed the Ami One to be cost-effective in more ways than one. Apart from it being a fully electric vehicle, the way they optimised the manufacturing process is really interesting.

The doors are completely symmetrical for instance, so you can literally interchange the right and the left without any issue (minus the door mirrors and the latch position). The same goes for the boot lid and the panel on the front of the car. They’re both identical as well, so now Citroen only has to manufacture just two different body panels to complete the entire four sides of the car. It’s really clever when you think about it.

EV is The Way Forward

Of course, the Ami One is electric, you already knew that just by looking at it. It has an official top speed of just 30 mph and it can travel 60 miles in just one charge. A cross-country vehicle it’s not then, but it does have the possibility to become one of the most successful city cars of our generation. Think about it. If the speed limit in city centres is 30 mph anyway, why would you need a car which can go faster than that? Thanks to instantaneous power from the electric motors, 30 mph comes up in no time. Plus, it can fully top up its batteries in just two hours, so I struggle to see how this isn’t the perfect solution for the average daily city commute.

A Vision for The Future

Remember when I said that the Ami One isn’t just a car? That’s because Citroen sees it as the ultimate expression of urban mobility. You’ll be able to rent one or use it as a car sharing platform. I believe the number of people who will own a car or maybe even a driver’s license in the future will drastically decrease. With so many new and innovative car sharing options emerging every day, young people won’t want to take responsibility or even bother with driving. We’re still a long way off from fully-autonomous vehicles, but we’re certainly heading towards a future where cars become more similar to appliances rather than the cars we’re already used to.

Will it take some time to adapt to that concept? Definitely, but it’s not like that’s necessarily a bad thing. Well done Citroen, the Ami One has certainly given us plenty to think about if nothing else.