No more formless soap box to rustic engine spitting loudly. The famous "carts", long associated with drivers who have lost their driver's license for speeding or alcohol, see their image transform.

"We had a clientele that historically did not want to be stigmatized as the one without a license. So we made very bland vehicles in their presentation, which could go unnoticed in the flow of traffic, "says François Ligier, CEO of the eponymous manufacturer.

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

Bright colors, design that tries to sing the SUV, touch tablets and air conditioning: the equipment is more numerous. The manufacturer also relies on a "record" range - 192 km in its most expensive version.

Affluent clientele

Inevitably, the price is affected, ranging from 12,500 to 17,100 euros, depending on the finishes. Rates that do not slow down a clientele often wealthy and eager to offer a safer vehicle than the traditional scooter to its minor children.

In just a few years, the unlicensed car has become a phenomenon in some regions. "This adolescent audience, we will find it close to cities, in a very important way on the Mediterranean basin from Marseille to Nice," says François Ligier.

The Paris region is not spared by the trend, "for example Neuilly, fairly CSP+ areas," according to Mr. Ligier, where again the golden youth relies on the car without a license.

In the local press, articles evoke 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 restricted to 45 km / h - in Monaco before ending up in the scenery has made the rounds of social networks.

Ligier factory in Boufféré, western France, April 11, 2023 © LOIC VENANCE / AFP

According to François Ligier, the market has been growing by about 10% per year for 10 years. The introduction of the AM licence in 2013, which lowered the driving age for lightweight quads from 16 to 14, gave the market a boost.

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 massively as never before, having access to media and advertising in a much broader way," which benefited the entire industry, admits the CEO.

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

Assembly line for electric cars without a license in the Ligier factory in Boufféré (Vendée), April 11, 2023 © LOIC VENANCE / AFP

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 of 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 focusing on professional vehicles, especially small electric vans.

"The arrival of ZFEs (low emission zones) revolutionizes mobility in the city center for goods and therefore new mobility vehicles will be needed to accompany this transformation," says François Ligier.

© 2023 AFP