Ligier’s Myli Electric Vehicle: Conquering Younger Drivers without a License

2023-06-10 20:00:00

In a niche market but in full expansion, the French manufacturer of cars without a license Ligier presented its first electric vehicle which aims to conquer new targets, starting with young people who can afford it.

Finished, the soap box informs the rustic engine sputtering loudly. The famous “carts”, long associated with drivers who have lost their driving license for speeding or alcohol, are seeing their image change.

“We had a clientele that historically did not want to be stigmatized as those without a license. So we made vehicles that were very bland in their presentation, which might go unnoticed in the flow of traffic,” explains François Ligier, CEO of the eponymous manufacturer.

Now customers – nearly half of whom are teenagers – are demanding style. It is this public that Ligier wants to reach with the Myli, its very first electric model.

Bright colors, design that tries to ape the SUV, touch tablets and air conditioning: the equipment is more numerous. The manufacturer also relies on a “record” autonomy – 192 km in its most expensive version.

Affluent clientele

Inevitably, the price is affected, ranging from 12,500 to 17,100 €, depending on the finishes. Rates that do not hinder a clientele that is often wealthy and eager to offer a safer vehicle than the traditional scooter to their minor children. In a few years, the car without a license has become a phenomenon in certain regions. “This adolescent public, we will find it close to cities, very significantly in the Mediterranean basin from Marseille to Nice”, explains François Ligier.

The Paris region is not spared by the trend, “for example Neuilly, quite “CSP” areas”, according to Mr. Ligier, where there too the golden youth is betting on the car without a license.

In the local press, articles mention the surroundings of high schools saturated by these vehicles in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Recently, the video of a Citroën AMI taking corners at full speed – these cars are limited to 45 km/h – in Monaco before ending up in the background made the rounds on social networks.

According to François Ligier, the market has been growing by around 10% per year for ten years. The creation of the AM license in 2013, which lowered the driving age for light quadricycles from 16 to 14, gave a boost to the market.

EPZ Revolution

Just like “the arrival of new competitors” in particular Citroën with the AMI (electric), star of the genre, recognizes the boss of Ligier. “When Citroën entered the market three years ago, it communicated in a massive way as we never might have done, by having access to the media and to in a much broader way”, which benefited all industry, admits the CEO

If the AMI was sold to 8,200 copies in 2022 (+ 23% in one year), Ligier says to have sold 16,500 vehicles last year. For the Myli, launched in May, the objective is 2,000 sales in 2023. Half of the production is intended for export, in particular Italy where the car without a license has been in vogue for many years.

In front of the assembly line of his factory in Boufféré (Vendée), from which 40 cars come out a day, François Ligier proudly claims the Made in France label for his vehicles – necessarily more expensive than an AMI produced in Morocco.

Within five years, Ligier would like to double in size – 192 million euros in turnover in 2022 – by also betting on professional vehicles, in particular small electric utilities.

“The arrival of ZFE (Low Emission Zones) is revolutionizing mobility in the city center for goods and therefore new mobility devices will be necessary to support this transformation”, wants to believe François Ligier.

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