License-free cars are on the rise! Over the first 8 months of the year, sales exceeded 14,000 units, an 83% increase. A boost that the market owes in large part to the arrival of a new player: Citroën. His Friend, at an attractive price, seduces a new clientele.
Aixam, Bellier, Chatenet, Ligier, Microcar … French manufacturers of cars without a license are more numerous than generalists! These vehicles, which it is possible to get behind the wheel from the age of 14 and which French drivers are particularly fond of, are experiencing unprecedented success.
Continuous increase in sales
After several years of continuous growth, the market has passed the 14,000 units sold mark over the period January-August 2021, an 83% increase according to AAA Data data. This boom can be explained in part by the success of L’Ami, Citroën’s electric quadricycle. Marketed for just a year, more than 9,000 copies have been sold since its launch, including 6,500 in France alone *. The vehicle appeals to both young people (over 40% of Friend users are under 18) and the parents’ wallet! With a starting price set at less than € 7,000 (excluding bonuses), it is, at a minimum, half the price of its combustion engine competitors.
Increased safety, more attractive design …
The economic aspect is obviously important, especially since these carts make it possible to avoid passing the costly test of the license. But they are also more reassuring than a scooter, while responding more and more to the environmental concerns of the moment. Since the beginning of the year 2021, one car without a license (VSP) registered in 3 has been electric. The rest, on the other hand, is almost exclusively made up of diesel, explain the specialists AAA Data.
The arrival of new products with a more attractive design and more high-tech options (reversing camera, central screen, etc.) has made it possible to register a slight rejuvenation of the average age of buyers, ” at 49 in August 2021 compared to 50 a year earlier », Assures AAA Data. Furthermore, these small vehicles, whose price does not weaken, interest more and more an urban public. Since 2021, for example, Parisians have gradually shifted towards two-wheelers and unlicensed cars when it comes to purchasing new vehicles, explains the firm. In addition to their reduced size, with a vehicle restricted to 45 km / h, the risk of being flashed in urban areas where the limitation to 30 km / h is generalized becomes more limited!
Reduced fees
In addition, when VSPs are electric, surface parking is free in some large cities. Operating costs are controlled with limited consumption (around 3 L / 100 km for thermals) and the absence of technical control. As for two-wheelers, the implementation of the latter was indeed postponed in extremis at the request of Emmanuel Macron, after being briefly adopted this summer! Other side of the coin: insurance can be very expensive. According to the comparator LesFurets.com, the monthly flat rate varies between € 20 (third party formula) and up to more than € 100 (all risks formula) depending on the profile of the driver and his region of traffic (2 to 5% more expensive in Parisian region). Do not forget either that these rather noisy vehicles (except in EV) cannot circulate everywhere: expressways and motorways are strictly prohibited for them.
TO READ. Electric car. Free parking everywhere on the street?
* data September 2021
