Just days ago we revealed how car2go would extend its electric car sharing programme across Europe (see article) and now it has officially announced its arrival in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
As of November 24, 300 Smart Fortwo electric drive vehicles will be made available for on-demand mobility without the need for a fixed rental station. The vehicles will have access to more than 250 charging stations in the city area – a number that will increase up to 1,000 before the end of 2012.
Car2go will cover an area of 80sq km in Amsterdam with customers able to drive their car2go everywhere during the rental period as long as it is returned to the business area when the rental has finished. Vehicles can be picked up and dropped off inside the business area at one of 36 specially marked car2go parking spots in six Q-park garages.
Each rental does not need to be ended every time at a charging station. However, should battery capacity drop lower than 20 per cent then rentals must be finished at one of the charging stations – if the battery level is lower than 40 per cent then drivers will receive 10 free minutes for recharging the car.
All of the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive vehicles feature telematics technology and customers can rent the cars spontaneously without committing to a specific return time or location.
Amsterdam will actually be the fifth city to benefit from a car2go service globally and the first inEurope. It will also mark the introduction of a new pricing structure with one minute of car2go driving costing 29 Euro cents; with an hourly rate of €12.90; and a daily rate of €39.
