Citroen has confirmed a commercial vehicle version of its Ami electric city car will arrive in the UK next year. Hot on the heels of the passenger-carrying Ami, the new model will join Citroen’s burgeoning electric van range as an urban delivery vehicle for ferrying smaller items around town centres.
Externally, the Ami Cargo will look more or less identical to the passenger-carrying version, with funky plastic bodywork and a tiny footprint. But the interior has been overhauled to improve the vehicle’s load-carrying capacity.
Like the standard car, the Ami Cargo will be adapted for the UK market but will remain left-hand drive. The right-hand passenger seat has been removed, with a new cargo module in its place, offering up to 260 litres of space and a payload of up to 140 kg. Alongside the existing car’s load space, that means there’s 400 litres of total carrying capacity.
To separate that cargo area from the driver, the car comes with a vertical partition that’s positioned to offer the maximum space behind the wheel and protecting the driver from any loose items in the load bay. The vehicle also comes with a secondary modular shelf unit that can hold up to 40 kg, and that can be converted into a desk when the vehicle is parked.
Under the skin is a 5.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that’s shared with the passenger car. That, combined with an 8 bhp electric motor, allows the car to travel up to 46 miles on a single charge, with zero tailpipe emissions. However, the vehicle is limited to 28 mph, giving it limited practicality outside the city centre.
The vehicle is, therefore, designed exclusively for urban use, with a total length of 2.41 metres and a width of 1.39 metres. The turning circle measures just 7.2 metres, as Citroen has tried to make the Ami as manoeuvrable as possible.
When the Ami Cargo arrives in the UK next year, it will join Citroen’s electrified light commercial vehicle line-up, which already includes the Zoe van, e-Berlingo, e-Dispatch and e-Relay models. Citroen has also promised to offer electrified versions of every model in its line-up by 2025.
“I am incredibly excited to see the Ami Cargo arrive in the UK next year,” said Eurig Druce, the managing director of Citroen UK. “With more cities across the UK introducing restrictions for conventional vehicles, Ami Cargo Electric will provide businesses and fleet customers with the opportunity to continue their urban and last-mile operations in a practical, sustainable and cost-efficient way.”
The new Ami Cargo is already available to order, with the first UK-bound vehicles arriving during the course of 2022.