London’s first non-membership electric car hire company GoGo Electric, which launched earlier this year, says that the bulk of its customers are private motorists living on the outskirts of the city who want to try out electrics as potential ‘early adopters’.
The company, which offers short-term rentals of the all-electric Mega e-City from its base in Brixton, says that the petrol and diesel price hikes during the summer, and the government fuel duty increase in September, have made people look again at the cost of motoring by traditional means.
GoGo Electric founder Natalie Franklin said: “People based outside the congestion charge zone are adding up the costs of driving in to London for the day, and working out how much they can save by hiring an electric vehicle instead.
“They can avoid paying the congestion charge, parking fees and also fuel costs if they recharge for free at one of the City’s juice points, and the rental quickly starts to make economic sense.
“Feedback from customers shows that many are also using the hire to try out a technology that they can see will become more mainstream over the next few years, with a view to buying their own electric vehicle as a runaround in town.”
GoGo’s customers’ key concern is that there are too few public recharging points, a situation which the Mayor of London has plans to address.
Natalie said: “GoGo is a new business idea, and we think it is very timely.
“With another fuel duty increase scheduled for April, and petrol and diesel prices remaining volatile, electric cars are a highly practical choice for driving around in town centres.
“A better recharging infrastructure is needed urgently so that it is easier for motorists for motorists to take advantage of the savings they can make, while also helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”
For more information visit www.gogo-electric.co.uk
