Ligier () is a French

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of

microcars Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include #Bubble cars, bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycle (EU vehicle classification) ...

. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Championship between

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. In collaboration with

Automobiles Martini Automobiles Martini is a constructor of Formula racing cars from France, founded by Renato "Tico" Martini in 1965, when Martini and partner Bill Knight founded the Winfield Racing School at the Magny-Cours circuit, in France. Martini's first car ...

, the Ligier-Martini entity offered

sports prototypes A sports prototype, sometimes referred to simply as a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in high-level categories of sports car racing. They are purpose-built auto-sports race cars, as opposed to production-car based or street-legal, ...

used in

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

( CN). After the announcement of the creation of the new category LMP3 by the ACO, Ligier and Martini associated with

Onroak Automotive Ligier Automotive, formerly Onroak Automotive, is a French company which designs, manufacturers, and sells auto racing, racing cars, specifically sports prototypes for various international series. Onroak was founded in 2012 by Jacques Nicolet w ...

(the manufacturer department of

OAK Racing OAK Racing is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans Prototype, LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA ...

) to offer a full range of prototypes ( CN, LMP3, LMP1 and

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...

History

The firm entered the automobile business with the Ligier JS2, a mid-engined

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

for the road initially powered by a Ford V6 and from 1971 by the same Maserati V6 engine as the

Citroën SM The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 Motor Trend Car ...

. The Ligier motorcars were all designated with the prefix "JS" in honour of Ligier's friend and cohort Jo Schlesser who was killed in the 1968 French Grand Prix while driving for

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. The final SMs were also produced in the Ligier factory in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

. The

1973 energy crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after E ...

caused such a decline in the market for the JS2 that production ceased soon after, and the firm changed its focus to

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...

s, beginning with the 1980

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...

-powered Ligier JS4. One of the world's first experimental prototypes of automatic parallel parking was developed on a Ligier

electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...

INRIA The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name French Institute for Research in Comp ...

in the mid-1990s. In September 2008, Ligier Automobiles completed its acquisition of Beneteau Group's

Microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...

division, with financing provided by 21 Investimenti Partners. Phillipe Ligier, son of the company's founder, remains as CEO. The Ligier and Microcar brands are to retain their separate identities and manufacturing facilities. The merger creates Europe's second largest microcar manufacturer (after Daimler's Smart unit, if one considers that a microcar), and largest manufacturer of drivers license-exempt vehicles. In 2011, Ligier launched the Duè brand, intended to market lightweight

quadricycles A quadracycle (also spelled quadricycle) is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms. Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown into ...

at a low price with a low-cost philosophy. The first model was the Dué First, which was essentially a revised version of the previous Microcar MC1 with simplified design and features to lower the price. After just two years, the Duè brand was integrated into the

range, another brand of the Ligier Group, and the Microcar Dué, a specific and new model, was launched. In August 2018, Ligier teased a new road-going sports car to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The car will be built in collaboration with Onroak. It will feature a 3.7 liter V6 producing approximately 330 hp, and a 6-speed manual transmission. It will be homologated to FIA E II-SH regulation. More details are to be released in September 2018, and it is expected to go on sale in November 2018 at a price of €89,000. In 2023, Ligier launched its first electric quadricycle, named Myli. In January 2025, Ligier announced the closure of the Montaigu-Vendée factory, concentrating all production at the Abrest (historic headquarters) plant.

Models

The Ligier model line currently consists of the JS50 line of mini cars, the X-Pro line of small commercial vehicles, and the Be Up/Be Two line of open-air, roadster-type vehicles. The company also produces a line of quad bikes and off-road utility vehicles sold as the Be Pro, Be Four, and Be Truck. The JS50, Ixo, Xtoo, Nova or Ambra are about two and a half meters long and have two seats. They are front-engined. Power units include two 2-cylinder four-stroke diesels of about half a liter displacement and feature a CVT for power transfer.

EZ10

The Ligier vehicle that's gained the most attention, is '' EZ10'' ''EasyMile'', a self-driving shuttle bus for light city transit. EasyMile SAS develops and markets the autonomous vehicles, and is a joint venture formed in June 2014 by Ligier and Robosoft Technology PTE Ltd (France). The joint venture is the result of the CityMobil2 project co-funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7). One EZ10 minibus can take between 8–10 passengers, and its speed is up to . In 2017, EZ-10 was introduced on the grounds of National Taiwan University in Taipei, and in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. In conjunction with Estonia's presidency of the EU Council, the minibus was presented in Tallinn on 14 July 2017 by EasyMile, and the tech companies in Estonia that co-financed the month-and-a-half-long project to bring the shuttle bus to the country. The buses will serve one line, including a stretch of tram line under reconstruction, and will run in Tallinn until the end of August.

Microcars

* Ligier JS4 (1980–1987) * Ligier Optima (1987–1995) * Ligier 162 (1995–2002) * Ligier Ambra (2001–2011) * Ligier Nova (2002–present) * Ligier Be Up (2000–present) * Ligier X-Too (2004–2010) * Ligier IXO (2010–2014) * Ligier JS RC (2012–2016) * Ligier JS 50 (2012–present) * Ligier JS 60 (2020–present) * Ligier Pulse 3 (2014–present) * Ligier Pulse 4 (2013–present) * Ligier Myli (2023–present) File:1980LigierJS4.jpg, Ligier JS4 (1980) File:Ligier Ambra (28053930425).jpg, Ligier Ambra File:Ligier Nova 01.jpg, Ligier Nova File:Ligier Be Up.jpg, Ligier Be Up File:Ligier X-Too Microcar.jpg, Ligier X-Too File:Ligier JS50L (MSP15).JPG, Ligier JS50 File:Ligier JS60.jpg, Ligier JS60 File:Trois-roues électrique Ligier pour La Poste.jpg, Ligier Staby used by the French post office

Ligier in motorsport

Ligier is best known for its

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team,

Équipe Ligier Équipe Ligier () is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from to . The team was founded in 1968 by former French rugby union player Guy Ligier as a sports car manufacturer. Sports car origins After retiring fr ...

, that operated from to . Ligier entered Formula One in with a

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

V12-powered car, winning its first Grand Prix with

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Laffite won six Formula One Grands Prix across 13 seasons. Born and raised in Paris, Laffite trained as ...

in . Ligier also competed in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

from to .

Gallery

Image:Ligier_JS2_vl_red.jpg, Ligier JS2 Image:1975LigierJS2FordCosworthDFV.jpg, Ligier JS2 File:Jeremie Dufour British F3 1995 Silverstone.jpg, Ligier Junior Team ( Jérémie Dufour, British Formula Three Championship, 1995) File:Ligier X-Too Microcar.jpg, Ligier X-Too Microcar File:Ligier Dué First - April 2015.jpg, Ligier Dué First (2015) File:Ligier.png, Experimental prototype capable of self-parking File:Michael Shank Racing - Ligier JS P2-Honda -49 (27802320135).jpg, Ligier JS P2 File:Ligier JSP217 - Gibson - Team United Motorsport - 24 Hours of Le Mans 2018.jpg, Ligier JS P217

External links

Official website

References

{{Automotive industry in France Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1968 Bus manufacturers of France Car manufacturers of France Piaggio Group Minibuses Microcars Quadricycles French companies established in 1968 French brands Sports car manufacturers French racecar constructors Nissan in motorsport 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Formula Three constructors