Currently reading: Automotive parts firm unveils £6600 electric city car concept

French supplier Valeo develops two-seater with 48V electric engine to show potential of tech for city cars

French automotive parts firm Valeo has unveiled a low-voltage electric city car concept that it believes could be sold for as little as £6600.

The two-seater, developed with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, is loosely based on a Chinese-built Zhidou city car, with all internal components bar the battery produced by Valeo.

The machine is powered by a low-voltage 48V motor, making it about 20% more economical than the high-voltage motors of around 400V currently used in electric cars. Because the 48V motor doesn’t require all the safety systems of a high-voltage system, it is also cheaper to produce.

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It has been designed to offer a 62-mile range, with a top speed of 62mph, which Valeo says meets the need of 80% of city-based commutes.

The concept, which is being demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is designed for the fast-growing market for small, low-speed city cars for use in cities.

Valeo CEO Jacques Aschenbroich said: “There is already a big market for low-speed vehicles in China, where more than a million such cars are on the road, and these cars are growing in popularity in Europe. This is a market that could explode around the world.”

Despite producing the concept, Valeo has no intention of becoming a car manufacturer – it is designed to showcase technology to sell to car firms. Aschenbroich added: “Producing cars is not our business. I don’t think we’d be able to do it, and we don’t want to do it.”

Valeo currently develops a range of autonomous, connected and eletric systems, including the SCALA lidar laser scanner system, used as part of autonomous systems on the new Audi A8.

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Acting magazine editor

James is Autocar's acting magazine editor. Having served in that role since June 2023, he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the world's oldest car magazine, and regularly interviews some of the biggest names in the industry to secure news and features, such as his world exclusive look into production of Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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