A new and imaginative way of encouraging people to move to electric cars was demonstrated by Citroen last month when it leased 200 of its fully-electric C-Zero cars for only £60 a month. The scheme is run in collaboration with a peer-to-peer car sharing provider Multicity so participants have the option of hiring out their C-Zero when they are not using it themselves, thereby reducing further still their monthly costs.
The 200 cars available through the scheme were snapped up within a day.
Xavier Duchemin, director of marketing and mobility projects at Citroen, said: “Cars are and will continue to be a major means of transport, but automotive access and uses are changing. By enabling customers to hire their car out to other individuals, CITROËN is helping them to recoup on the running costs of their vehicle and bringing the public a new mobility service”.
The various schemes in place around the world to promote the uptake of electric cars for the most part take the form of a government grant, but it is an approach that has failed to deliver dramatic results; in 2011 only 1,052 electric vehicles were registered under the British Plug-in electric car grant.
What is peer-to-peer car sharing?
Peer-to-peer car charing schemes act as a mediator between car owners wanting to reduce their running costs and people who want to hire a car for hours or days at a time.
The WhipCar scheme in Britain bears a similarity to eBay; those wishing to offer their car for rent set the price themselves and advertise it online, leaving and receiving feedback at the end of the transaction.
WhipCar screens all cars and drivers and provides a fully-comprehensive insurance policy that protects both the owner and the hirer’s no-claims discount in the event of a crash. It makes its money by taking a 15% commission from the rental price.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “This will be an environmentally-friendly alternative to car ownership for some, and with running costs running to thousands of pounds a year it makes financial sense for existing owners, too.”
How does WhipCar work?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RNHKzFuUK3E
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