Small cars have a hard time breaking through in Sweden. Here we still hug our station wagons and suvar – hard. On French, Italian and Spanish streets, small cars – often so minimal that they can park with their noses out – are a more common sight.
But hand on heart – how often do we who sit in Swedish traffic jams do not see lone drivers in heavy loaders who seem to lack the need for giant luggage? Some of us could probably without difficulty release the grip on the combi – at least we who do not have a large family with several children.
For small cars have actually become much more spacious in recent years. With, among other things, a longer wheelbase, car manufacturers succeed in creating significantly more space for long-legged people in both front and rear seats. It is noticeable when male motoring journalists drive new small cars and are surprised to find that they do not hit their heads on the roof when they sit down.
The fact that several of the small cars we can now drive are also completely electric is good for the climate and the environment. Soon maybe it will be for the wallet as well. For car manufacturers who are investing in launching smaller cars with electric power in the coming years, they also promise that they will be relatively cheap. Some aim to invest around SEK 200,000 in the basic price, others are even more ambitious and want to produce small cars that only cost around SEK 100,000.
How is it then possible to reduce prices so much? Cheaper manufacturing is a factor. A study conducted by Bloomberg NEF points out that electric cars can become cheaper to produce in the mid-2020s, the more electric car platforms that come and the more battery factories that emerge. But it is of course based on the fact that we then do not have the same situation as today – with a large shortage of components and capricious prices for raw materials.
The range – the one that many are anxious about in small electric cars – will also be better, according to the manufacturers. Both Volkswagen’s small ID Life and Cupras Urban Rebel will get around 400 km in range, according to the manufacturers. It is on a par with some of the much larger vehicles with electric propulsion that roll on our roads today.
Here you can read about some small electric cars that will arrive in the mid-2020s, about some small things that already exist and about a concept car for the future.
Volkswagen ID Life – the smallest with zipper
ID Life – or rather ID.1 if you are to follow the christening names from the other electric cars in Volkswagen’s family – will be in 2025. It will be the smallest member of the family, even though it looks quite solid in the pictures that have been released. Volkswagen calls the car “a crossover in new interpretation”. The concept car shown has a detachable roof that can be opened with a zipper – the production car will probably not have one. But hopefully the material in the hood and roof is still recycled from PET bottles when the ID minimum starts to be manufactured – it reduces weight and gives high marks for durability.
ID Life is just like the Cupra Urban Rebel front-wheel drive, because both cars are built on the electric car platform MEB Small. The electric motor has 234 horses and the range is set at about 400 km.
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Cupra Urban Rebel – a three-dimensional car
The youngest brand within the Volkswagen Group, Cupra, is investing heavily in electrification from 2025. Then the city car Urban Rebel will also appear. It is built on Volkswagen’s electric car platform MEB Small, and will be the size of a Volkswagen Polo. Urban Rebel gets front-wheel drive and an electric motor of 226 horsepower – the range is tentatively set at 440 km.
The steering wheel is reminiscent of one used for game modules, and the materials in the car are 3D-printed to give them a nice shape and be lighter in terms of weight.
According to Cupra, the price tag for the entry-level version will land around SEK 200,000 – similar to the Volkswagen sibling Id Life.
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Renault 5 – from a small fossil car to a softly shaped electric car
The classic small model Renault 5 was manufactured between 1972 and 1996 – and was a sibling to 4L, which in Sweden was often called Laban. In 2024, the new interpretation of the 5th will come, with electric power and a preliminary basic price between SEK 200,000 and 250,000.
The battery that sits in the upcoming electric car is 52 kilowatt hours and the range ends up somewhere around 400 km. There will also be a simpler version with a smaller battery and a range of about 300 km.
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Nissan Micra will be an electric car – or maybe it’s called something else?
That Nissan Micra’s successor will be completely electric was revealed at the beginning of the year. But whether the new small electric car will still be called the Micra is still unclear.
Since Nissan’s new small car is being built on the alliance partner Renault’s platform – and is being built in Renault Electricity in France – it will have similar technology as the upcoming Renault 5. But the design is likely to differ – because that’s how car brands do nowadays. The same basic technology but design details that differentiate the models.
When Nissan’s new small electric car will go into production has not yet been revealed.
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The smallest Citroën Ami and Opel Rocks-E
These two-seater mopeds have been rolling on French and German streets for a while. Citroën and Opel are both part of the Stellantis Group, so the little ones are basically identical. None of them are intended for any longer journeys, but may well be considered as emission-free city mopeds with a roof, and for two people. The range is ten miles and the top speed is about 45 kilometers per hour. But they can be quickly charged in twenty minutes in any case.
In France, Ami can be parked for free, and the price is favorable – around SEK 70,000. It is also possible to rent the moped car for just over SEK 200 a month.
Citroën Ami may arrive in Sweden later this year – possibly with a larger battery and better range?
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Kia Picanto – maybe with electric power in a few years
It has long been rumored that Kia’s little Picanto will arrive as an electric car around 2025. According to the car magazine Automotive News, Kia is developing a platform for small electric cars – something that probably means that Picanto will then come as an electric car – and probably also get the sister brand Hyundai i10 electric drive. But there is no official confirmation yet.
Kia has also shown the concept car Electric Pop – a zero-emission car that has room for three occupants. As always with concept cars, there is usually quite a bit that is realized in production models. But surely it looks cool with the glass roof that turns into a windshield?
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Microlino – the snowmobile car that fits best in the city
Microlino is not so reminiscent of the BMW Isetta – the German microcar that was manufactured between 1955 and 1962. Just like the Isettan, the front is the door into the car.
But now it’s a small electric scooter car from the Swiss mobility pioneer Micro Mobility. It is strictly two-seater and has 220 liters for luggage. Microlino is available in three different battery sizes and has a range from about 180 to 230 km. Fast charging takes an hour, and the top speed is 90 kilometers per hour. Priced? Around SEK 125,000.
Microlino can be ordered online, and according to the company can be sent worldwide.
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Mini Vision Urbanaut – this is what the future may look like
Do not expect this digital concept car to go into production. But even when car designers let their imagination run wild, some of their dreams can come true after a few years. Maybe we will see a steering wheel made of natural cork and furnishings made entirely of knitted recycled textile in some of Mini’s future models.
What the Mini, which is owned by BMW, wants to show with Vision Urbanaut is what an electric self-driving car could look like in the near future. A rolling lounge in an urban environment, you could say – with a seating area to relax or pick up the computer and work when the car drives itself.
When the car is stationary, the front windscreen must be able to be opened, and the driver ‘s seat swung around so that anyone sitting at the wheel can talk directly to the passengers. All interiors in this future car are of course made of recycled materials, and the vehicle is completely free of chrome and leather.
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