Citroen E-Mehari On Sale In France, But Battery Subscription Is Extra

Now, it is on sale in France, just in time for drivers to soak up some rays in their head-turning new plastic car on vacation to the French Riviera (see the promotional video for the Citroën E-Mehari above if you're wondering what that adventure would look like).

The E-Mehari shares its powertrain with the also weird and beachworthy Bolloré Bluesummer. Adding to the E-Mehari's inherent weirdness, though, is that the its €25,000 (almost $28,000) price tag for France doesn't include the battery pack. That must be leased from Bollore's BlueSolutions for an additional €79 ($88.34) per month. That's just how BlueSolutions does business.

The leasing of batteries isn't totally novel. The Renault Kangoo Express ZE was also sold without a battery. If you wanted to actually drive the thing, you had to lease its battery for €72 (which, back then, was closer to $97) per month. Fossil fuels were more costly then, making the battery rental a more reasonable proposition.

Today, though, not everyone is into the idea of renting the battery to their car. Inside EVs believes that the base price is sound, but that the additional €79 a month "is kinda discouraging, and as such limits any future success of the plug-in." The other option, though, is to just lease the whole car at a price of €299 (about $334) per month for 49 months for a total of €14,691 (about $16,428) before incentives. Is that worth it for a plastic novelty with just 50 kW of maximum power?