Citroen 'Ami' electric mini car offered at $22/month - no license required.

Citroën on Thursday unveiled an electric minicar costing just 6,900 euros ($7,600) that will go on sale later this year.

Citroen will also make the car available for long-term lease for as little as $22 per month (over 48 months, $2,900 deposit) or through Free2Move, a car-sharing service operated by parent company PSA Group.

Called the Ami, the electric minicar is a production version of the Ami One concept unveiled last year, whose philosophy bears no resemblance to the iconic Citroën 2CV of 100 years ago.

Like its competitor, Renault's French Twizy, the Ami is small in size and low in power, so in some countries it falls into the segment of cars that do not require a driver's license to drive. One of its advantages over the Twizy is its fully enclosed cabin, which protects passengers in bad weather. [The car is only 7.9 feet long, has a top speed of 28 mph, a range of 43 miles on a 5.5 kWh battery, and can be fully charged in three hours from a standard outlet. While this car doesn't make much sense on U.S. roads, in small European cities it would be an ideal means of transportation.

Inside, there is room for two people and not much else. The driver is offered a steering wheel and digital instrument cluster, and to the right of it is a dedicated area for a smartphone, which becomes the main dashboard screen and provides access to navigation and music. [For storage, there is a niche in the passenger footwell space large enough to accommodate a cabin-sized suitcase, as well as a second storage area in the rear of the cabin.

Citroen will begin taking orders in Europe in late March, with the first models to be delivered by summer. Citroen is not represented in the US, so it is unlikely that we will see the Amis on local roads anytime soon.