Citroën this year launched its first 100% electric license-free car. But delays in delivery and technical problems hamper his early career.
Not easy to launch a new model in times of covid-19. Citroën can attest to this with its automotive UFO, the AMI, a license-free cart, 100% electric and sold from 6,900 euros, a model that explores new horizons for the chevron brand.
More success than expected?
Launched at the beginning of the year, the AMI has apparently won over the public, with a novelty effect but also a more general trend in France of attraction for the car without a license, which can be driven from the age of 14. But in the context of a global pandemic, not everything went as planned.
Delays in delivery but also manufacturing defects were quickly noticed by many customers, as indicated in an article from Automobile Propre. To justify itself, Citroën says it is particularly surprised at the success of this model, with 2,400 carts ordered since its launch and the opening of orders on April 27, at the end of the first confinement.
Unsurprisingly, the vehicle would especially appeal to under 18s and young adults. 60% of the orders are placed within the traditional network of its dealers. But also via innovative distribution methods. The AMI is thus sold by the Fnac and Darty network, which accounts for around 12% of sales since the launch. The cart is also part of the Free2Move fleet, the car-sharing vehicle service offered by PSA.
Industrial and logistical concerns
In May, with the first deconfinement, Citroën said it had fulfilled 500 orders. But the health situation has gradually deteriorated, especially in Morocco and in particular in the region where MAI is produced. The PSA plant in Kénitra was therefore closed for 3 weeks in September. In these conditions, it is complicated to meet a higher demand than expected with a production tool that was not sized for such volumes. The discovery of manufacturing defects, especially in the handbrake, did not simplify matters either.
Leaving factories, the AMI still had to reach their customers on the other side of the Mediterranean. Here too, the coronavirus has complicated things with a logistics flow penalized by reduced maritime traffic, explains Citroën, which however wants to be reassuring about the current situation.
Good hope for the end of the year
The Kenitra plant would thus have resumed a normal production rate, enough to allow customers who have been waiting for their vehicle for a long time to expect delivery before the end of the year. Citroën ensures that it is currently doing everything to deliver between 10 and 20 vehicles per day but does not give more details on the number of deliveries still pending.
These efforts will have to be equal to the discontent that is mounting among some customers. A Facebook group, “Citroën AMI: delivery problems & others”, with a little over 300 members registered in mid-November, has for example been created. What to see delays much longer than the two months mentioned by the French brand. Some members of this group ordered their vehicles in May or June and have just been delivered or are still pending.
A nascent community to pamper
Citroën provides compensation for its customers most affected. Vouchers of 100 euros for accessories from the AMI range have thus been distributed to those who have received their registration card for a while, and therefore pay for insurance without having the vehicle yet available. A connected speaker worth 149 euros, which is part of the optional accessories offered with the AMI, was also offered in compensation.
Gestures that seem appreciated by the members of the Facebook group mentioned a little earlier. And Citroën would be wrong not to worry about it. Like what can already be observed on electric cars, the user community will indeed do a lot on the image, and therefore the potential success, of this innovative vehicle.
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Despite its title “delivery problems & others”, and the many user complaints about delivery delays and lack of brand communication, some members do not hesitate to share their first rather positive experience with videos of gluing stickers provided for personalization and installation of accessories.
A message posted on November 6 by a client sums up the current situation rather well: “Here it is! Ordered in May and received today. She is very nice. Do not lose hope!”, She wrote with a photo of her FRIEND well “sticky” and visibly ready to hit the road.
