PARIS (Reuters) -- PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will build the Bollore Bluesummer convertible electric car at its factory in Rennes, western France.
Production will begin in September with a maximum annual production of 3,500 vehicles, PSA said in a statement today.
PSA did not give details of when the car will go or sale or its pricing.
Vincent Bollore, who heads the Bollore industrial group that developed the Bluesummer, has previously talked about the vehicle as a "beach car" in the vein of Citroen Mehari.
Bollore told a French radio station today that the Bluesummer would cost less than 20,000 euros and it will be sold through Citroen dealerships.
Citroen CEO Linda Jackson told the Automotive News Europe Congress last week that the brand is considering reviving the Mehari lightweight utility car to help give the brand a “fun” image.
The four-seat Bluesummer has a range of 200km on a single charge.
The deal with PSA complements one signed by Bollore in 2014 with Renault to produce the Bluecar model at a Renault plant in Dieppe, northern France. Manufacturing started this month, replacing earlier production in the Italian city of Turin at car designer Pininfarina.
Bollore and Renault will also work together to carry out feasibility studies on a new model of electric car, something absent from the PSA deal.
The Bluesummer has a 200km range.
Bollore's Bluecar has become a common sight in Paris under the Autolib self-service electric car hire program, and similar systems have been launched in Lyon, Bordeaux, London and Indianapolis.
Bollore created the Bluecar to prove the efficacy of his group's solid-state LMP batteries. But other players in the auto industry are betting on a different technology known as lithium ion batteries.
A spokesman for Bollore said the group could seek to sign partnerships with additional carmakers outside France to expand production and availability of its electric cars.
Besides the Bluesummer production deal, PSA and Bollore will also seek to promote car-sharing schemes, first in Europe and then by creating a worldwide joint venture. These would use electric vehicles and low-emission traditional vehicles.
