Flew to Barcelona last month and saw two XEV YOYOs parked up by the plane. The airport staff were using them to get around airside.
I was struck by how great they looked.
The YOYO looks perfect for two people with a few shopping bags or a couple of small cases. Ideal for short journeys or running errands around town. The perfect city car.
We should all be driving around in these small, well-designed electric vehicles, like the YOYO. Not those obese, power-hungry SUVs.
They are what the future should look like.
Curious, I looked them up.
XEV is an Italian start-up with a manufacturing base in China. Much of the car is 3D printed with customisable finishings.
The vehicle has a clean, simple interior with a rear storage capacity of 180 litres.
The neat thing is the car’s batteries are removable so you can quickly swap them out for fully charged units. The car also charges via the mains or at charging stations.
The Yoyo has a range of 150 kilometres (93 miles) according to the WLTP specification, and a top speed of 80 km/h (50mph)
The starting price is a very impressive €13,000 or just £12,000.
Absolutely love them.
I live in London and drive a petrol car. I mainly use it for short trips around the city and rarely do journeys of over 60 miles.
In London, there is little point (other than status !) in driving anything near a high-performance car. Speed limits of 20mph are enforced across much of the city and speed cameras are absolutely everywhere.
So the top speed and performance of the YOYO isn’t really a problem. Parking would be much easier and it would probably be much cheaper to run.
The local council have just installed electric charging points on every 3rd lamp post along my street. So, a little YOYO electric car could be a viable replacement for my old car.
The one thing I might think twice about is driving it on a motorway, especially in bad weather.
You would, inevitably, feel vulnerable in a little, lightweight car in heavy, high-speed traffic on very wet roads.
So yeah... 