Moped cars: Experts warn against cheap city runabouts

Leasing your own new car for under 100 euros – or buying it for less than 10,000 euros. That sounds extremely promising, especially to young people who are allowed to drive it at the age of 15 and with an AM driving license. This is exactly what so-called micro-cars like the Opel Rocks-e, the identical Citroën Ami or vehicles like the Aixam Access offer. The light vehicles also have other advantages: a moped license plate is enough for little money, and you don’t have to worry about vehicle taxes.

Of course, these moped cars have obvious disadvantages: They only travel at 45 km/h – because the law wants it – and, if electric, are not suitable for long tours due to their short range. But as a small city car, such a vehicle is actually quite interesting.

Actually, because Dekra recently came to shocking results in accident tests on behalf of the television program “auto mobil – das Vox Automagazin”, reports “”. Right from the start, the specialist magazine makes it clear: “Micro-cars like Ami and Rocks-e are life-threatening”.

To simulate an accident in the city, two vehicles were allowed to crash at full speed, i.e. 45 km/h, with about half of their fronts into a “deformable offset obstacle”, i.e. a flexible aluminum structure. This is supposed to be similar to an accident with an oncoming car.

“Auto Motor Sport” summarizes the result as follows: “The testers measured stress on the dummies that would most likely have led to death in human passengers.”

The first vehicle in the test was an Aixam Access. According to the report, this is the best-selling car in its class. It is three meters long and weighs 425 kilograms. Conclusion: “After the crash, the passenger cell of the Aixam did not deform significantly, but the loads in the interior were considerable. The airbag-free steering wheel shifted towards the driver’s seat while it was hit with full force by the dummy’s head.”

“Auto Motor Sport” further classifies: “The impact with the steering wheel was 720 kilograms. Legal limits are 80 g, and that is already life-threatening for some people.”

The little Citroën Ami doesn’t fare any better: Although you can’t initially see the “extreme impact” on the people in the interior after an impact, that’s deceptive. Because the rigid frame of the car “cannot absorb any kinetic energy such as a crumple zone.” In short: the driver and front passenger get significantly more.

Here too, “Auto Motor Sport” assumes that the outcome will be fatal if an impact of this type involves a person at the wheel. “Extreme forces” that acted on the cervical vertebrae were to blame.

The problem, according to the report, is the comparatively low requirements for light vehicles. Ami – or Access – are equivalent to scooters and S-Pedelecs. This means that the small cars must meet the same safety regulations as two-wheelers. And those are very few. Systems such as ABS, airbags or crash sensors are not mandatory.

“Auto Motor Sport” confronted the manufacturers with the results. While Stellantis, the parent company of Opel, Citroën and Fiat, primarily drew attention to the advantages over other vehicles in this class, the French manufacturer Aixam spoke plainly. According to this, light four-wheeled vehicles in vehicle class L6e cannot keep up with cars due to their design and many safety technologies in modern cars are “technically not feasible”.