Heuliez Friendly

The Heuliez Friendly was a small electric car that the French carrosserie Heuliez designed in eight months for the Poitou-Charentes region, which had issued a call in January 2008 for a clean, low-cost and innovative vehicle. It was meant for urban and peri-urban use and was planned in three lengths of 2.10, 2.50 and 2.90 metres. The standard 2.50 metre version seated three people arranged in a triangle and offered 400 litres of luggage space, and Heuliez proposed 27 configurations so that buyers could choose the size, the motor and the battery capacity. It used nickel metal hydride batteries, a cheaper technology than lithium-ion, which kept the planned price near 5,000 euros. Production was planned at the Cerizay plant at 10,000 vehicles a year for sale from April 2010, first to local authorities and rental companies.