WATCH | Isn’t it cute? Check out the world’s smallest electric car

The Birò is the world’s smallest electric car. At 1.79m long and 1.1m wide, it’s almost small enough to fit into the load bay of a single-cab bakkie but big enough to carry two people.

Made by Italian firm Estrima, the Birò was launched in 2008 as a microcar for congested urban environments, and four can fit into one car-sized parking. It’s classified as a quadricycle but is licensed to drive on public roads, and has an enclosed cockpit with doors, a roof and a windscreen for weather protection.

For 2022 the Birò has been updated with a boot which grows from 41l to 122l, and the batteries are positioned lower for better handling stability.

Thanks to the Birò App, a digital key is enabled directly on your smartphone: one click and it's on and ready to go.

It has a range of up to 55km and its lithium ion battery takes two to four hours to charge at a regular wall plug.

Its two rear-mounted electric motors produce a combined 3.3kW output, giving the tiny city car a 45km/h top speed. In Italy it can be driven from the age of 14 with a driver's licence.

The Birò  is only available in Europe at a starting price of about R220,000.