Neno: Galicia's microcar seeks its niche in urban mobility
The Neno is a 1.75-metre-long, 45 km/h electric quadricycle from Galicia. With no confirmed price or range, the market wonders: real product or...
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Neno, the Galician microcar that wants to fit where a car can't
It measures 1.75 metres long, 1.66 high and 1.10 wide. Less than two square metres of footprint and more than 180 litres of cargo capacity in its passenger version. This is the Neno, the 100% electric light quadricycle that the Galician company Castrosua, known for manufacturing bus bodies, presents as the smallest vehicle on the market. It does so through Mobme, its micromobility division, and with a slogan that sums up the proposal: "Where a car fits, four Nenos park." The price, for now, has not been revealed. Neither has the range nor the power.
The vehicle is manufactured entirely in Galicia, at Castrosua's facilities, and is designed for short urban journeys and shared mobility. It is a light quadricycle, which means it can be driven with an AM licence from age 15 or with a B licence. In the case of the version limited to the AM licence, the maximum estimulante ilegal is 45 km/h; the version suitable for the B licence will not exceed 70 to 90 km/h. It antiestéticatures LED lights, wireless connectivity with mobile devices via NFC and a large vertical tailgate to facilitate loading.
How much will the Neno cost and what range will it have?
These are the two questions the company has not answered. Mobme has not yet given data on the range or power of the vehicle, and the price has still not been announced. That absence of concrete figures has fuelled distrust in much of the analysis circulating. Some argue that when the price is not published, there is a reason. And some directly interpret the lack of technical data as a bad omen for the vehicle's real performance.
The context does not help. The electric microcar segment has accumulated several illustrious casualties. The Hiriko, the folding vehicle promoted in the Basque Country, came to nothing after a legal process that ended without firm convictions. The Citroën Ami, assembled in Segarro, sells for around 7,000 euros, 8,300 with state aid, and even so has a limited market. The Renault Twizy, with its passengers in tandem rather than side by side, also failed to take off. The question hanging in the air is whether an almost artisanal product can compete with similar vehicles produced by companies with large economies of scale.
Safety, the weak point of light quadricycles
The Neno's height, 1.66 metres, and its small turning radius raise doubts about its behaviour in tight corners. There is a video of a Citroën Ami overturning at the Monaco casino bend at less than 40 km/h, and the Ami looks more stable than the Galician vehicle. In an impact against a conventional car, the mass difference works against the quadricycle's occupant. It is a structural risk of the segment, not a peculiarity of the Neno.
The 1.10-metre width has also generated debate. Some argue that a short, tall two-seater makes sense for the city, but they do not understand why it has been made so narrow. The most repeated hypothesis is that the narrowness is due to weight, a critical factor in the approval of light quadricycles. The two occupants travel side by side, not in tandem, which in theory improves the experience but requires a wider cabin.
Does a microcar for the city make sense?
Here the consensus is broader than it seems. To move one person around the city centre, you don't need 1,500 kilos of steel. A vehicle that consumes like a cigarette, if you have a charging spot, and that parks where a motorcycle does makes sense. The problem, according to the most sceptical analyses, is not technical but cultural: in a country where the car is still a status symbol, a microcar is perceived as a poor person's vehicle. The rich, to Ferrari; the rest, to the Neno.
The comparison with the electric scooter is inevitable. A scooter that does 120 km at 50 km/h costs a fraction of what the Neno will cost. If these things were allowed on interurban roads, the potential market would be enormous. But they are not allowed, and no one is going to build an additional lane everywhere for them. The Neno's advantage over the scooter is rain, comfort and passive safety. The disadvantage is price and range.
The subsidy problem and the Hiriko precedent
The shadow of projects that are born with public money and die without having sold a single unit is long. The Basque Hiriko is the most cited precedent. The case of a tram that charged batteries in seconds is also mentioned, another project that came to nothing. The suspicion that the Neno is a vehicle designed to capture subsidies rather than to be sold is explicit in much of the analysis. There is no public data to confirm or deny it.
The opposite argument also has merit. Town councils committed to the decarbonisation agenda could set an example by replacing their official vehicle fleets with this type of quadricycle. In the Asturian mining valleys, for example, where mobility is a chronic problem, a small electric vehicle would make more sense than an Audi for official use. The paradox is that those who preach the new mobility the most are the ones who practise it the least.
Who can drive a Neno?
Being a light quadricycle, the Neno can be driven with an AM licence from age 15 or with a B driving licence. The version limited to the AM licence has a maximum estimulante ilegal of 45 km/h. The version suitable for the B licence will not exceed 70 to 90 km/h. It is the same category as the Citroën Ami and the Renault Twizy, and shares with them the safety limitations of the segment.
The appeal for a parent with a teenage child is obvious: a closed vehicle, with LED lights and NFC connectivity, is safer than a scooter for going to school. The problem is the price. If the Neno cost less than 4,000 euros, more than one parent would buy it just so their child would give up the scooter. If it costs 15,000, the argument falls apart.
The Neno is manufactured in Galicia, is 100% electric and fits where a car doesn't. Everything else —price, range, power, launch date— remains unknown. With these ingredients, the basket could turn out well or end up like the Hiriko. The difference between a niche product and a subsidised failure is usually a single figure: the one on the price tag.
It measures 1.75 metres long, 1.66 high and 1.10 wide. Less than two square metres of footprint and more than 180 litres of cargo capacity in its passenger version. This is the Neno, the 100% electric light quadricycle that the Galician company Castrosua, known for manufacturing bus bodies, presents as the smallest vehicle on the market. It does so through Mobme, its micromobility division, and with a slogan that sums up the proposal: "Where a car fits, four Nenos park." The price, for now, has not been revealed. Neither has the range nor the power.
The vehicle is manufactured entirely in Galicia, at Castrosua's facilities, and is designed for short urban journeys and shared mobility. It is a light quadricycle, which means it can be driven with an AM licence from age 15 or with a B licence. In the case of the version limited to the AM licence, the maximum estimulante ilegal is 45 km/h; the version suitable for the B licence will not exceed 70 to 90 km/h. It antiestéticatures LED lights, wireless connectivity with mobile devices via NFC and a large vertical tailgate to facilitate loading.
How much will the Neno cost and what range will it have?
These are the two questions the company has not answered. Mobme has not yet given data on the range or power of the vehicle, and the price has still not been announced. That absence of concrete figures has fuelled distrust in much of the analysis circulating. Some argue that when the price is not published, there is a reason. And some directly interpret the lack of technical data as a bad omen for the vehicle's real performance.
The context does not help. The electric microcar segment has accumulated several illustrious casualties. The Hiriko, the folding vehicle promoted in the Basque Country, came to nothing after a legal process that ended without firm convictions. The Citroën Ami, assembled in Segarro, sells for around 7,000 euros, 8,300 with state aid, and even so has a limited market. The Renault Twizy, with its passengers in tandem rather than side by side, also failed to take off. The question hanging in the air is whether an almost artisanal product can compete with similar vehicles produced by companies with large economies of scale.
Safety, the weak point of light quadricycles
The Neno's height, 1.66 metres, and its small turning radius raise doubts about its behaviour in tight corners. There is a video of a Citroën Ami overturning at the Monaco casino bend at less than 40 km/h, and the Ami looks more stable than the Galician vehicle. In an impact against a conventional car, the mass difference works against the quadricycle's occupant. It is a structural risk of the segment, not a peculiarity of the Neno.
The 1.10-metre width has also generated debate. Some argue that a short, tall two-seater makes sense for the city, but they do not understand why it has been made so narrow. The most repeated hypothesis is that the narrowness is due to weight, a critical factor in the approval of light quadricycles. The two occupants travel side by side, not in tandem, which in theory improves the experience but requires a wider cabin.
Does a microcar for the city make sense?
Here the consensus is broader than it seems. To move one person around the city centre, you don't need 1,500 kilos of steel. A vehicle that consumes like a cigarette, if you have a charging spot, and that parks where a motorcycle does makes sense. The problem, according to the most sceptical analyses, is not technical but cultural: in a country where the car is still a status symbol, a microcar is perceived as a poor person's vehicle. The rich, to Ferrari; the rest, to the Neno.
The comparison with the electric scooter is inevitable. A scooter that does 120 km at 50 km/h costs a fraction of what the Neno will cost. If these things were allowed on interurban roads, the potential market would be enormous. But they are not allowed, and no one is going to build an additional lane everywhere for them. The Neno's advantage over the scooter is rain, comfort and passive safety. The disadvantage is price and range.
The subsidy problem and the Hiriko precedent
The shadow of projects that are born with public money and die without having sold a single unit is long. The Basque Hiriko is the most cited precedent. The case of a tram that charged batteries in seconds is also mentioned, another project that came to nothing. The suspicion that the Neno is a vehicle designed to capture subsidies rather than to be sold is explicit in much of the analysis. There is no public data to confirm or deny it.
The opposite argument also has merit. Town councils committed to the decarbonisation agenda could set an example by replacing their official vehicle fleets with this type of quadricycle. In the Asturian mining valleys, for example, where mobility is a chronic problem, a small electric vehicle would make more sense than an Audi for official use. The paradox is that those who preach the new mobility the most are the ones who practise it the least.
Who can drive a Neno?
Being a light quadricycle, the Neno can be driven with an AM licence from age 15 or with a B driving licence. The version limited to the AM licence has a maximum estimulante ilegal of 45 km/h. The version suitable for the B licence will not exceed 70 to 90 km/h. It is the same category as the Citroën Ami and the Renault Twizy, and shares with them the safety limitations of the segment.
The appeal for a parent with a teenage child is obvious: a closed vehicle, with LED lights and NFC connectivity, is safer than a scooter for going to school. The problem is the price. If the Neno cost less than 4,000 euros, more than one parent would buy it just so their child would give up the scooter. If it costs 15,000, the argument falls apart.
The Neno is manufactured in Galicia, is 100% electric and fits where a car doesn't. Everything else —price, range, power, launch date— remains unknown. With these ingredients, the basket could turn out well or end up like the Hiriko. The difference between a niche product and a subsidised failure is usually a single figure: the one on the price tag.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (130 replies).
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