Citroën “Ami for All”: Helping People with Disabilities

Citroën has introduced a modified version of its small Ami for people with reduced mobility who have lost the use of their legs.

The Autonomic Paris 2023 exhibition runs until June 8, and one vehicle is generating a lot of buzz. It is the Citroën “Ami for all”. The small electric vehicle that can be driven without a license will be accessible to all users, especially to people with reduced mobility, and more specifically to those who have lost the use of their legs and require a wheelchair. This concerns 1% of the global and French population. It is a safe and comfortable solution, compact and agile, allowing them to move around from age 14 onwards, even if they do not have a driving license.

The prototype was developed in collaboration with Pimas, a company specialized in adapting vehicles for people with disabilities. The car can notably accommodate a wheelchair.

Everything has been modified to allow for better vehicle control

Since the vehicle must accommodate new drivers, several modifications should be noted. First, the angle of the door is larger when opening to facilitate easier access into the vehicle. There are handles on the steering wheel: they serve as accelerators and brakes. A sphere is also available to help drivers turn the steering wheel without much effort.

The Citroën Ami can reach a speed of 45 km/h and offers a range of 75 km. The vehicle can still be recharged in 4 hours using a standard 220V outlet. The dimensions of the vehicle have not changed, with a length of 2.41 meters, a width of 1.39 meters, and a height of 1.52 meters.

Christophe Lapeyre, head of the “Ami For All” project, explains how the idea came to him: “The shared project in 2022 was to offer a turnkey solution to adapt the transportation of disabled people to the challenge of electric mobility. The idea came to me when observing students at my son-in-law’s high school, who are dependent on transfers in TPMR vehicles (Transport for People with Reduced Mobility), while their classmates enjoyed complete freedom. Besides the societal challenge, identifying technical and industrial solutions was a particularly motivating challenge.“

The price of the vehicle has not yet been announced.

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