The Aston Martin Cygnet, a concept city car that shares its running gear with the Toyota iQ, has taken another step towards production amid speculation that the finished article could be a battery-powered electric vehicle.
The prototype features a striking re-working of the stock iQ, with modified bodywork and luxury interior, but little has been said about the drive train.
With high-performance cars like the electric version of the Mercedes SLS AMG and the Audi e-Tron on the horizon and manufacturers like Rolls Royce open to the idea of battery power, there would be no stigma in Aston Martin offering an electric Cygnet.
Why would the Cygnet go electric?
Various factors point towards the possibility of an electric-powered Cygnet.
The technology is viable (the car is similar in size to the electric version of the Smart car, which is currently being assessed on British roads); the Cygnet will be available only to existing Aston Martin owners (an electric vehicle works well as a second car and in this role the Cygnet would fit Aston’s description of it as a ‘supercar tender’); the inclusion of an electric car within the Aston Martin model range would help it meet tough CO2 emissions regulations.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Binding EU targets for car CO2 emissions agreed last December include ‘super credits’ that would enable Aston Martin to sell up to 3.5 of its supercars for every electric vehicle it sold and still reach its official EU target. The effect of this is that carmakers that choose to market electric cars to meet EU targets would have to do less to reduce emissions of conventional cars.”
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