Europcar to offer electric car rental

Car rental firm Europcar is to roll out a new fleet of Renault electric vehicles, as well as the infrastructure needed to recharge their batteries from 2011.

According to research conducted by Renault, 80 per cent of people in Europe travel less than 60km per day and therefore a short-term zero-carbon solution will prove valuable.

The Europcar group, which has 2,500 rental agencies across Europe, is supporting Renault's 'electric vehicles project' by developing specific new short-term rental services using the company's zero-emission vehicles.

Salvatore Catania, chief executive at Europcar, said: 'To address the issue of climate change, Europcar wanted to take things further with Renault by optimising short-term rental solutions suited to electric vehicles. We are proud to have our brand and staff involved in such a large-scale project, which is fully in line with our company's sustainable development strategy and the goals set forth in our Environmental Charter.'

Uwe Hochgeschurtz, director of Renault's corporate sales division, added: 'Thanks to our “Zero-Emission” mobility programme, Renault will offer a broad range of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2011. For Renault, electric vehicles with zero carbon dioxide emissions constitute a real answer to current environmental concerns.'