Lightweight Urban Electric Microcars: An Overview

Micromobility and smart cities: efficiency, energy consumption and range analysis for electric vehicles

“…According to [14], 'drivers have started to spend much time in traffic each day. The number of vehicles has become another issue in these traffic jams.…”

Operational Impact of Microcars on Urban and Suburban Road Corridors

“…According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the average private car occupancy in the U.S.A. decreased from 1.59 to 1.54 during the period from 1995 to 2017 ( 1 ). Karaca et al ( 2 ) stated that the number of passengers per vehicle is around 1.4 in peak hours in the U.S.A. In Shanghai, motorization has caused a decrease in vehicle occupancy.…”

“…Recently, many car manufacturers have produced small-sized vehicles (one- or two-seaters), commonly known as microcars ( 2 , 6–8 ), which can serve different classes of car users. The history of microcars dates back to 1920s when “cyclecars,” which were the first examples of microcars, were designed to be a cheaper version of conventional four-wheel cars ( 2 ). Cyclecars had some advantages such as lower weight where a motorcycle engine was mounted on a lightweight chassis.…”

“…Modern microcars are neither too fast nor too big for one commuter. They provide the personal freedom of driving with far less traffic and parking congestion, lower emissions and lower running costs ( 2 ). Moreover, they offer many advantages compared with motorcycles and bicycles.…”

Methods and techniques for the assessment of vehicular exhaust particulate emissions using alternative fuels and advanced emission control systems

“…Whatever the next steps are, it is important that these vehicles are closely scrutinized in the years to come, as SPN emissions will not be subject to any regulation limits. Minicars currently represent a mere 1% of the L-category fleet and therefore their impact on emissions is low (EU, 2010;Ntziachristos et al, 2017), but they are expected to become a popular means of transport in modern dense cities (Cahill, 2013;Pavlovic, 2015;Karaca et al, 2018), due to their small size, low fuel consumption, comfort comparable to small passenger cars and reduced administrative burden (they can be driven from the age of sixteen in most European countries). Finally, minivans, which belong to the same category, are expected to be widely used as a means of commercial transportation in big cities (Cahill, 2013), while municipal activities (e.g.…”