The trickle began around 2018. A year earlier, the then Minister of Transport and current Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, approved the sale of quadricycle-standard vehicles in Israel. Officially, these are something like motorcycles with four wheels, but in practice, they are smaller and cheaper than any Kia Picanto, built to a more basic standard and intended for city driving. You can see them in China and Europe, where they can be driven with a special license starting at age 16. At that time, some of these vehicles worldwide were equipped with tiny gasoline engines, but in Israel, only electric models were approved for import under a new vehicle classification: "tiny vehicle." They could be driven like a regular car, starting at age 17, with a standard B license.
Tiny electric cars began appearing on the roads, designed for two passengers, with a short driving range and a limited maximum speed of up to 80 km/h, restricting them mainly to city use. When they first arrived, they were mostly dismissed outright and were hardly considered. With prices ranging from NIS 40,000 up to NIS 58,000–60,000, even with the maintenance savings they offered, they were hard to justify compared to mini cars of the time, which started at NIS 60,000. Take the Suzuki Celerio—not exactly a hall-of-fame car, but compared to those tiny electric cars, it was a real car. It wasn’t limited in range or to urban driving, could seat four passengers, and had a resale market.
Today, when a mini car already costs over NIS 100,000, the cost of living is metaphorically draining the will to live, and plug-in electric cars are now firmly mainstream, we’re revisiting these vehicles as used options. A three-year-old city car for the price of an eight-year-old Seat Ibiza—are we missing something?
Generally speaking, tiny electric cars can be divided into two main types: those designed for institutional use and those for the private market.
The institutional vehicles make up the majority of these on the road. These are small commercial vehicles, like the L7E from Minicar, imported by Ofer Avnir, or the LV Tong, imported by USD—essentially the same vehicle under two different stickers. These vehicles suit local authorities, maintenance teams in parks, or urban deliveries. At just 3.3 meters in length, they have an impressive payload capacity for their size—450 kg. Their range is about 70 km, they can be charged using a regular household outlet, and they start at NIS 62,000, with laughably low maintenance costs compared to a pickup truck or any other alternative. There are also Goupil electric trucks from France, imported by Lubinski, but these offer higher capabilities and come with a significantly higher price tag.
The second type, which is relevant for private customers and will be our focus, consists of tiny electric passenger cars that have been arriving in Israel since 2018, with some still available today. Their names have changed over the years—at times, it was the Lichi, the Today Sunshine, then the BAW Pony, and occasionally another car under the name City Spirit. Today, the "Kumi" is marketed by USD, the same company that imported the Lichi and Sunshine. However, the Kumi is a different case—it has four seats and costs NIS 85,000.
The names may change, but the concept remains the same—four wheels, an electric motor, two passengers, often less than 1.5 meters wide, with the longest ones measuring no more than 3.2 meters. Annual insurance and licensing costs do not exceed NIS 1,000. The batteries initially used gel technology but later switched to lithium. Maximum speeds range from 55 km/h to 90–100 km/h in the stronger models. When we say "stronger," we’re talking about cars with no more than 41 horsepower. The stated range is between 100 km and 150 km. Safety features are slightly better than those of a scooter, and in the best case, they come with a single driver’s airbag—so it wouldn’t hurt to carry a clove of garlic and a traveler’s prayer card for extra luck.
Yes, their technical specs haven’t improved. They’re still small, two-seater cars with limited performance and range (which may even decrease slightly due to battery wear) and safety levels that make you want to wear a helmet while driving. But their prices are dropping fast.
Let’s set aside the early Lichi models, which were barely more than mobility scooters with yellow license plates. The Sunshine, which cost NIS 58,000 in 2019, is now valued at NIS 31,000 according to the Levy Yitzhak price guide. A 2023 model, which was sold new for NIS 65,000, is now priced at 47,000 shekels for the base version and NIS 54,000 for the stronger version.
A tip: on Yad2, there are currently a few listings. One is a 2022 model priced at 29,000 shekels, sitting there for over six months. It started at NIS 33,000, and with a good offer, you could shave off a few more thousand. Another 2022 model has been listed for four months but is priced higher—NIS 39,000 (a 1,000-shekel drop from the original price).
The Pony, which started at NIS 65,000 in 2023 and later climbed to NIS 70,000, now has a price guide value of NIS 45,000 for a 2023 model and NIS 57,000 for a 2024 model. It comes with a three-year or 60,000 km warranty for the vehicle and a five-year or 120,000 km warranty for the battery. This means the costliest component is fairly well covered, and the overall maintenance costs are much lower than those of an aging gasoline car that would require upkeep and repairs. Since the Pony was mainly sold to companies in its two years on the market, no used models have hit the market yet, but its resale value is expected to be similar to the Sunshine.
Unlike when they were new, as used city cars, these offer something very interesting. As long as you have a place to charge them and only need a city car, aren’t picky, and can tolerate an extremely barebones interior and very low ride comfort, they could be worth considering.
For the price of an 8–10-year-old supermini, you could drive a relatively new car with much lower maintenance, licensing, and insurance costs. But with a clear warning: their safety is worse than any mini car built to real automotive standards. Even when the European crash test program evaluated some of them using a lighter test than standard crash tests, the results were shocking. Have things improved since then? Unclear, but no new tests have been conducted.
Just like when we first encountered the Lichi back in 2018—if you meet the conditions and can say "yes" to them, this is a very interesting deal. They’re not as safe as a Picanto or even a Suzuki Alto, but they cost as much as a scooter and are safer than one. And when there’s a storm outside, they have a roof and the stability of four wheels.