BERLIN: Not everyone wants a car, but sometimes you just want something with a roof over your head.
For those of us who like electric mobility but not the pricetag that often comes with it, Opel has announced plans to launch the Rocks-e, a cheap and lightweight ride that's somewhere between moped, e-bike and proper car, at the turn of the year.
The manufacturer says it wants to start deliveries of its urban runabout in Germany in January 2022, with home-market prices starting at €7,990 (RM38,000).
Opel says it hopes Smart Urban Mobility (SUM) vehicles like this one will soon replace the Sports Utiliy Vehicle (SUV) on city streets, even if their motor power is just a tiny fraction of what most diesel and petrol engines can offer.
Although it's unusually light, weighing in at just under 500kg, the Rocks-e's electric motor still needs about 10 seconds to reach its top speed of 45kph. After all, it has just 8hp.
With the electricity from a 5.5kWh battery, the Rocks-e can manage about 75km before it needs a good three hours to recharge at a household socket using a supplied cable. It can only be plugged into the wallbox with an optional adapter. Fast charging is a no-go.
With a design largely borrowed from sister company Citroen's Ami, the fully electric Rocks-e is designed to be nifty and small and since it's a light vehicle, it can even be driven by young people as young as 15, depending on the licence rules in their country.
For prices that lie somewhere between an expensive e-bike and an cheap small car, buyers will get an angular electric largely made of plastic.
At 2.41 metres long and 1.39 metres wide, it takes up less road space than a Smart, and it has a smaller turning circle than any other Opel at 7.20 metres.
It's also set to come with its own quirks and the driver and passenger need to enter through doors that swing in opposite directions - not unheard of in cars of this size.
