why didn't the electric car work at OttOmobile?

Following our visit to Mini Express in April 2023, we returned with the good news that the OttOmobile (OttO) brand reproducing 1/18 and 1/12 cars was going to open up more and more to the electric. Curtain ! The trail apparently led down a chaotic path. However, without announcement, a few models were released that can still be found on the Web. What do you think?

In enthusiasm

In 2020, OttO is offering the first electric car in its history, which began eleven years earlier, at 1/18 scale. This is the e-Legend that Peugeot presented at the Paris Motor Show in September 2018 for the fifty years of the 504 coupe. And it is a success for the Breton company Mini Express, owner of the OttOmobile brand. .

During our report, Frédérick Guillier-Sahuqué, one of its founders, confirmed: “ Peugeot could have marketed its electric concept which would have sold quite well. At home, in any case, the craze really surprised us. In addition to the 2,000 units initially planned, we had to remanufacture 1,000 units. ».

What decide this collector “ fell under the spell of design » of the trendy concept of venturing into the EV path by releasing the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Renault 5 E-Tech prototype. During the on-site interview in April 2023, the Opel Mokka-e and Manta GSe ElectroMOD, as well as the BMW i4 M50, were announced for the following months. Ready to relay their marketing, we saw the SUV arrive at lightning speed, but not the other two cars.

Swirls

Diversifying the catalog towards electrics has caused some stir among enthusiast customers and undoubtedly even internally. To the point that Frédérick Guillier-Sahuqué already signed a courageous message in August 2023 entitled “ OttO fait son coming out ! “. Following the presentation of an EV reproduced in resin at 1/18, the company had to face a real wave of discontent.

« We received a lot of criticism following the presentation of the Opel Mokka-e. I love the look of this car; when I saw it for the first time during a visit to JP Performance, I fell in love with this model » the leader then justified. Among his arguments: “ For once an electric car was identical to its thermal car version, it was worth highlighting this fact ».

A year later OttO retreats: “ Bye Bye electric cars or the latest BMW in the Club “. Signed this time with “ The team “, the letter to members drives the point home even further: “Within a few month, the American premieres should appear at OttO: Dodge Dart, Challenger, Camaro, Mustang, Mercury, etc… enough to make us forget electric cars a little “. Old models sauce V8 ».

Confidential EV news

This new communication after a radio silence of about a year on the electric therefore explains why we did not see the Opel Manta GSe ElectroMOD and BMW i4 M50 coming. However, they did come out, but confidentially. With the great astonishment of finding them on the Mini Express website during the OttoO Fest on May 25, 2024, we were able to buy the first one for less than 70 euros.

Also readVisit to OttO – Renault 5, Ford Mach-E, Opel Manta GSE, BMW i4, etc.: miniatures are also going electric!

Later and by chance, we also noticed that other EV models from the Breton brand were available from professional dealers, but not from the club nor from the official catalog. So the BMW i4 M50, in white or blue, your choice. Two models already reproduced also appeared with a different presentation. The Opel Mokka-e officially released to club members in green is also available in white at specialist dealers. Same thing for the Ford Mustang Mach-E which went from blue to orange. The Renault 5 E-Tech has even returned.

This phenomenon is also explained in the letter presenting the new features for November and December 2024: “ Our Pro customers will now have models dedicated to them such as recent models or modern competition models. “. Note the release in March 2024 of the Renault 5 Turbo 3E electric concept, not announced to members, but present in the official OttO catalog and also offered by professionals.

Siding?

Was it ultimately a good idea for OttO to launch into electric models? Today, it is not exceptional to find Otto's Peugeot e-Legend on the Internet for less than 100 euros, while the black Citroën BX GTI 16S released the same year 2020 is almost impossible to find and crosses 200 euros when she finally resurfaces. At Loisir & Miniature, the Opel Mokka-e, BMW i4 M50 and Ford Mustang Mach-E are on sale at -15% (75.65 against 89 euros) as of November 19, 2024. There are no other OttO models in this case at this retailer.

Concerning the electric SUV with the blue oval, Frédérick Guillier-Sahuqué told us in April 2023: “ Maybe it was a mistake on my part to have wanted to reproduce this car “. With sales of the real Mach-E struggling to take off, its scale model was indeed in danger of not being a great success.

It also felt a bit like a casting error with the Opel Mokka-e and BMW i4 M50. The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, which are much more numerous on our roads, could have interested a lot of electric motorists reproduced at OttO at 1/18. It is not a lack of will in Josselin in Morbihan, just the non-validation by the manufacturer of the request made by Mini Express.

Is there a market?

Can electric motorists be sensitive and interested in having their electric car reproduced on this scale and this level of quality? There definitely is. Undoubtedly much less among those who switched to EVs for ecological reasons while at the same time they adopted an approach to consume less, and in any case to do without as much as possible what they consider to be superfluous. For many of them, having a small representation of their vehicle is useless and represents unnecessary expenditure of materials and energy.

However, we have noticed that over the past one to two years more and more motorists are switching to electric vehicles out of pleasure, curiosity and/or the desire to be innovative in terms of mobility technologies. Enough to feel a certain pride in driving a Renault 5 E-Tech, Opel Corsa-e, Kia EV6, Tesla Model 3 or MG Cyberster.

We cannot blame OttOmobile for positioning itself very early. It was probably too early and with too limited visibility. Now that you can find its products even in Leclerc supermarkets, it's just a shame that the offer is not or is no longer there. we are thinking in particular of the Dinan store, in Côtes-d'Armor, where 26 Tesla terminals were installed this year. We see EVs of all brands regenerating. Here an offer of scale models representing them could be very successful.

Two different collections

We probably need to think carefully about the models of electric cars to reproduce in miniature under a perhaps specific brand, like VE-Spirit for example. Spontaneously, we would see two avenues to explore. The first would be concepts likely to inspire dreams, riding in particular on the neo-retro wave. In this regard, the choice of the Peugeot e-Legend was entirely judicious. Continuing with the Renault 5 E-Tech and 5 Turbo 3E prototypes, but also with the Manta GSe ElectroMOD made sense. We would have seen the SM Tribute and R17 Electric Restomod X Ora-ïto in continuity.

The other avenue would be EVs on the market likely to attract public sympathy, whose scale models could represent a symbolic gift to offer on a birthday or other occasion. Alongside the Tesla Model 3 and Y already reproduced elsewhere, the list could continue with models whose original car arouses emotion due to a choice or a significant effort made by motorists not necessarily very comfortable. financially comfortable.

In our ideal list, we could find the Renault 5 E-Tech, BMW i3, Volkswagen ID. Buzz, Peugeot e-208, Abarth 500e, MG Cyberster, Porsche Taycan, and the Fiat Topolino quadricycle.

Give us your opinion

Note that Norev has started to position itself regarding electrics on the 1/18 market with the Audi RS e-tron GT already available in the catalog and the Renault 5 E-Tech offered on the Renault stand during the Paris Motor Show. 'Automobile 2024.

Now, it's up to you, dear readers, to share your opinions in the comments. For example by already indicating whether or not for you it is superfluous to reproduce electric cars on the market in scale models. And for those who would like to start such a collection: what EVs would you put in it? Do you already have one? If yes, at what scale(s)? Gifts or voluntary purchases? Questions of course optional