Altran supports Citroën with the launch of its AMI quadricycle

Groupe PSA subsidiary Citroën has partnered with Altran in the development of the Citroën AMI, the firm’s ultra-compact light electric vehicle.

Launched in April this year, the Citroën AMI is a 100% electronic, two-seat quadricycle. The small 458 kilogram car made its debut in France, and has since been rolled out in several other European countries, including Spain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and most recently Germany.

The Citroën AMI can be operated without a driver’s license, and according to a release from PSA, the car is “perfectly in line with today’s consumer trends, meeting urban mobility needs for short-distance travel while offering a full digital customer experience.”

Reviews of the car have been promising since its launch, with TopGear describing it as “a completely joyful thing to potter around town in. Everybody loves it, and it generates the kind of feel good not possible even in a supercar… ideal for of intra-urban commuting, literally across cities.”

Citroën turned to Altran – a Capgemini owned company – to support with the development process. Based on requirements defined by the French car maker, Altran led the development process, from both a technical perspective, including research, simulation, testing, approval, supplier management; and an industrial insight, focusing on architecture, and production facilities; from design to purchasing and vehicle and process engineering.

In order to see this through successfully, Altran called upon some 100 experts organised in multidisciplinary, international teams. These teams received support from automotive specialists in France, Morocco and the Netherlands for software components, as well as professionals in India and China for procurement issues.

William Rozé, Executive Vice-President, Altran, said of the collaboration, “We are proud to have brought this project to fruition, thanks to the efforts of teams in five different countries. Altran’s expertise made it possible to shift classic automotive development paradigms with a view to offering innovative and competitive solutions.”

Rozé added that the programme was “a first for Altran”, and that the engineering and technical consultancy can “now build on this experience to usher in new concepts towards building other intelligent industries.”