BY Micah Toll

Eli Electric, the manufacturer of the popular Eli ZERO electric microcar, announced this morning the opening of reservations in the US.

Microcars, often referred to as quadricycles in Europe and Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs) or Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) in the US, are a niche category designed largely for urban travel. Many new automakers in this category have failed to gain traction, often selling mere dozens of units.

But the Eli ZERO has so far proven popular in the markets it has already launched across Europe and Asia, with hundreds of models already on the streets (did I mention the ‘niche’ thing?). Now the pint-sized EV maker is bringing the Eli ZERO to the US, opening up $200 refundable deposits to reserve the $11,900 vehicle. Deliveries are expected to begin in Q3 2024, so it looks like reservation holders won’t have to wait very long.

The model heading stateside is an upgraded version designed to meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s regulations for LSVs, allowing it to be street-legal at the federal level. That permits owners to operate it like a traditional vehicle, but only on roads posted up to 35 mph (56 km/h). In other words, most roads in most cities. Eli has now boosted its production capacity to 4,000 vehicles per year and will use a dealership model to sell and distribute its ZERO vehicles in the US.

As the company’s founder and CEO Marcus Li explained: “Our goal is to transform urban trips, empowering riders to reconnect with their communities through compact and agile EVs that allow for a better utilization of urban space, reduced congestion, ease of parking and ultimately an improved quality of life in cities. Introducing the Eli ZERO to the U.S. market, we’re not only riding the wave of an emerging mobility revolution, but also redefining personal vehicles in an innovative way that benefits both traffic and the environment.”

The two-seater vehicle features a rather large battery, at least by LSV standards. The 8 kWh LiFePO4 battery for the European model is rated for up to 60 miles (100 km) of range, but the company announced that the US model will receive an even higher range of 90 miles (145 km), presumably meaning the vehicle will feature a larger battery. The 3.2 kW on-board charger can recharge the vehicle in under three hours on 240VAC, or under 5 hours on 120VAC.

The top speed is limited to 25 mph (40 km/h) to comply with federal regulations for the vehicle class. In addition to two traditional car seats, there’s a 160L (5.6 cubic feet) trunk for storage in the rear. That’s not exactly a huge trunk, but it’s not a huge vehicle, either.

The length of the ZERO is just 88 inches, which is actually shorter than the width of a GMC HUMMER EV. Not only could it park nose-in within the same spot a HUMMER parallel parks in, but you could fit nearly four Eli ZEROs in that same parallel parking spot. Or to translate that into something that matters to most people, you could park a ZERO in that corner “not a spot” at the local grocery store, daycare, yoga studio, or wherever else driving an SUV would be overkill.

While the Eli ZERO is not technically a car, it still features many car-level features such as heat and A/C, keyless entry and start, power steering, anti-lock brakes, electronic parking brake, rearview camera, radar sensors for parking, tilting sunroof, and an optional Sony infotainment center with CarPlay and Android Auto.

That means that it feels and drives more like a traditional car, at least until you hit the 25-mph speed limiter. In addition to the current list of features, the company says that ahead of the official launch later this year, it will announce several innovative new features that “will be a first in the LSV industry.”