Paris launches electric car-sharing scheme

Paris is launching its first car-sharing project as it aims to clear its traffic-clogged boulevards.The backers hope the scheme will be a major boost for electric vehicles.The Autolib system is intended to build on the success of the Velib bicycle-rental service, similar to that operating in many European cities.A two-month pilot project will allow motorists to hire the battery-powered Bluecar for 30 minutes at a cost of four to eight euros.Membership of the Autolib scheme will cost from 10 euros a day up to 144 euros a year.The cars are being provided by entrepreneur Vincent Bollore and manufactured by the Italian designer Pininfarina, famous for sculpting Ferraris and Maseratis.They will have a range of up to 250 km before a recharge, which will take about four hours.At first, 66 of the four-seater vehicles will be available for hire at 33 charging stations.But Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe intends to expand to 3,000 vehicles and more than 1,000 stations by the end of 2012."We want to persuade people to shift from the concept of owning a car to that of using a car," Autolib General Manager Morald Chibout told the Reuters news agencyThe project gets underway as leading automakers test driver enthusiasm for electric cars on a large scale in Europe.Renault SA and its Japanese sister company Nissan Motor Company have invested 4 billion euros in electric vehicles.Carlos Ghosn, who leads Renault and Nissan, has said electric cars could account for 10% of new car sales by 2020.Valentine de la Celle, a 30-year-old Parisian mother of two, does not own a car."We are doing building work at home at the moment and to take things to the tip I would have to hire a car, which is difficult," she told Reuters."But the scheme needs to be quick and simple, otherwise people will not use it."Like the Velib cycle-hire scheme, Autolib's pricing structure encourages people to rent vehicles only for short journeys."We are not here to compete against traditional car rental businesses," said deputy mayor Annick Lepetit.