Green Motion - Britain’s low CO₂ vehicle rental company - today was welcomed as the latest member of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

Following Green Motion’s launch the company applied for membership of the BVRLA and following careful review by the association membership has been granted.  Founder of Green Motion, Richard Lowden, expressed his delight at being awarded membership of the BVLRA and said ‘Green Motion’s membership of the BVRLA further strengthens our organisation’s commitment to deliver the highest levels of customer service to both our retail and corporate hirers.’  Richard went on to say ‘as well as offering the choice to hire green/low CO₂ cars and vans our customers now have the peace of mind and reassurance that they are working within an organisation that has signed up to and abides by the BVRLA’s Rental Charter and Code of Conduct.

BVRLA - Rental Charter
As a member of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association we pledge to provide for our customers

• Complete details of pricing, ensuring customers are aware of all aspects of charging before commitment to the rental contract
• The best price available to suit customers’ specific needs
• Vehicles that are serviced and inspected to the manufacturer’s operating manual as a minimum standard and complying with all statutory requirements
• Vehicles that are clean and inspected for safety from a selection of low mileage, current model vehicles
• An insurance level guaranteeing protection for third party personal injury and property damage
• Commitment to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association’s Code of Conduct
• An effective complaints procedure with access to a conciliation service administered by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association

Green Motion specialises in offering lo CO₂ vehicle solutions, from short and medium term rental through to contract hire and leasing, to retail and corporate customers.  Green Motion offers its customers a choice of quality vehicles including Bluemotion models from Volkswagen (Polo, Golf, Passat and Sharan), 1, 3 and 5 series from BMW’s EfficientDynamic range and the luxury of the Lexus hybrid including the RX 4×4 and GS Saloon.

For further information on hiring a low CO₂ car or van from Green Motion please call their Central Reservations team on 0333 888 4000 or visit www.greenmotion.com

For further information on the BVRLA please visit www.bvrla.co.uk

Europe’s first and only low CO₂ vehicle rental company, Green Motion, today confirmed that it is changing the telephone number of its Central Reservations department to a new 03 prefix standard charge rate number - 0333 888 4000 from its existing 0870 number.

Following in the footsteps of the BBC who recently changed their main telephone number, Green Motion’s Founder, Richard Lowden, said ‘the cost of operating an 0870 number has recently increased for the customers with them being charged anything from 6p** per minute from a landline.  This amount is increased when calling from mobiles/cell phones. 0870 numbers allow revenue sharing and, at present, aren’t included in free or discounted minutes.  The new 03 prefix means the customers will only pay standard call charges -03 numbers are not revenue sharing and the cost of a call will be the same as national calls to 01 or 02 numbers.*

Green Motion is the UK’s first national rental company to change its Central Reservations number with multi national players, including Avis, Hertz and Enterprise still operating  087 numbers.  Richard Lowden went on to say ‘Green Motion is delighted to have another first in the UK daily rental market with their customers not only being able to enjoy the benefit of hiring low CO₂ cars and vans at highly competitive rates but also not being charged a premium to call our Central Reservations department.

Green Motion’s Central Reservations number has been changed from 08700 600 600 to 0333 888 4000.

Green Motion, a truly environmentally focused vehicle rental company, has further expanded its green proposition working in partnership with Trees4Good.

Green Motion Vehicle Rental offers you the opportunity to hire the latest in low CO2 vehicles including Polo, Golf and Passat Bluemotion from Volkswagen, 1, 3 and 5 series EfficientDynamic range from BMW, hybrid models including the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, stop start technology on the C1, C2, C3 and C4 from Citroen the Eco 2 Megane and New Laguna from Renault.
Our commitment to the environment does not stop there – we have recently teamed up with Trees4Good with the pledge ‘you rent a car – we plant a tree’.

Planting trees is one of the simplest and most effective ways of helping to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and working with Trees4Good not only tackles the environmental issues but helps the indigenous populations of Borneo and Brazil to create a sustainable lifestyle, providing income that in turn supports their education and healthcare.

Green Motion invite you to play your part in reducing your personal/company carbon footprint and plant a tree today.  For a £2 donation Trees4Good will plant a Jatropha tree on your behalf which will, over its life of between 30 and 40 years, absorb, on average, 24kg of CO2 per annum.

Please visit http://www.trees4good.com/buy-a-tree-packs.html and play your part today. It costs £2.

Green Motion will be celebrating each benefactor by adding your name (company or personal) to the Trees4Good virtual forest which will be featured on greenmotion.com at the beginning of August.

For further information about Green Motion Vehicle Rental and Trees4Good please visit

www.greenmotion.com or www.trees4good.com .

Thursday 22nd May saw the UK’s largest dedicated green vehicle motor show arrive in Liverpool. The event promoted by the Green Car Guide saw motor manufacturers and environmentally focused automotive operations present their latest innovations and services.

Exhibiting were motor manufacturers including BMW with their EfficientDynamic range, Volkswagen with their Polo and Golf Bluemotion models and Citroen with their low CO₂/stop and start C1, C2, C3 and C4.

The show welcomed many large organisations including Tesco and British Telecom who are focused on reducing their company’s carbon footprint.

Green Motion - Europe’s first fully environmentally friendly vehicle rental company - took the opportunity to promote its latest eco initiative - you rent a car, we plant a tree. Not satisfied with offering its customers a choice of vehicles that boast the latest in low CO₂ and fuel saving technologies and adhering to its own all embracing environmental policy, Green Motion has taken a further step in its environmental evolution.

To promote its new tree planting initiative, each visitor to the Green Car Guide Live 2008 show was presented with a live evergreen oak sapling which offset the emissions associated to each journey made to the show.

Green Motion also featured its flagship eco vehicle, the Polo Bluemotion, which boasts the lowest CO₂ of any standard vehicle of 99g/km.

 In recent weeks we’ve had numerous reports about some of the leading car hire companies in the world turning to green cars for their fleets from Europcar to Green Motion. Well, now you can add another name to the list as Hertz expands its list of vehicles with a green theme.

As the busy summer travel season begins, Hertz has purchased 3,400 Toyota Prius models in an effort to keep on top of consumer demand and to drive down its costs. It should come as no surprise that the company is anticipating greater demand for hybrid cars with fuel prices reaching $4 a gallon in the USA and around £1.20 a litre in the UK.

Indeed Hertz is not alone in announcing further hybrids to its fleet. Enterprise Rent-A-Car has also expanded its offering - there are approximately 4,000 hybrid vehicles in its fleet of 1.1million. Vehicles from Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda are proving particularly popular with recent fuel-efficient models from the likes of KIA, Mazda and Hyundai also winning customer support.

Hertz is hoping that hybrid cars can help the company turn the corner financially. In the first three months of 2008 it suffered a net loss of $57.8million - although that was less than during the first three months of 2007 when it lost $62.6million. The summer months are traditionally much more profitable for car hire companies and Hertz hopes that the hybrid vehicles in its fleet can help reduce outgoings while maximising its rewards.

Green Motion is pleased to confirm that it has recently awarded its Nottingham franchise territory to local businessman, Gurdev Bath. Gurdev and his family have been looking for a suitable business to invest in over the last year or so and found out about franchise opportunities with Green Motion at the beginning of this year.

After undertaking a tremendous amount of research of the marketplace, Gurdev identified that there was a need and market for environmentally friendly vehicle rental in Nottingham and proceeded to purchase one of Green Motion’s premier territories.

Green Motion Nottingham will commence operations in early September 2008 and will be located in the heart of the city, taking up residency at the former Budget Rent a Car premises at 50 Lower Parliament Street (opposite the Oceana Entertainment venue).

The founder of Green Motion, Richard Lowden, said ‘it is great to have Gurdev and his family on board. I am confident that as a result of their in-depth and successful business experience, local knowledge and relationships, that they will develop Green Motion Nottingham into a location we will be proud of.’ Richard went on to say ‘as each day passes Green Motion receives an increasing amount of interest from large corporate to private individuals who are genuinely concerned with regards to climate change and who are looking to play their part in making a difference.’

The owner of Green Motion Nottingham, Gurdev Bath, said ‘we are delighted that we have been awarded the franchise territory of Green Motion Nottingham and we are extremely excited with the opportunity of bringing green car and van rental to our local area.’

As well as the Nottingham territory, Gurdev Bath has also acquired the rights to open a second franchise supporting Nottingham Airport (formerly East Midlands Airport).

In the UK approximately 12% of all CO2 emissions are caused by the motor industry. There are now over 300,000 rental vehicles available to hire throughout the UK and before now there has been no simple way for individual customers and companies to hire eco-friendly vehicles.

Green Motion Vehicle Rental, the world’s first wholly eco-friendly car and van rental company offers both personal and business hire customers the option of renting vehicles featuring the newest technology, the lowest CO2 emissions and the highest fuel economy.  In addition to providing green vehicles for hire, Green Motion also abides by its own comprehensive environmental policy.

Green Motion Vehicle Rental is committed to providing its customers with vehicles equipped with the latest environmental technologies and lowest CO2 emissions. Green Motion offers locations throughout the United Kingdom, Northern and Southern Ireland. There are also further branches and affiliations in Europe, America and worldwide.

Green Motion Vehicle Rental works hand-in-hand with some of the world’s most famous motor manufacturers including Volkswagen, Citroen, Toyota, Honda, Lexus and BMW. This is how they are able to hire vehicles that are at the cutting edge of environmental technology.

From small city cars to luxury limousines, Green Motion Vehicle Rental now offers its customers the opportunity to reduce their CO2 emissions.

http://www.greenmotion.co.uk/

 Car hire, if used correctly, can have a positive impact on the environment - you hire a car as and when you need it, avoiding depreciation and other running costs and cutting out those non-essential journeys. However, one car hire company has gone an extra mile to do its bit for the environment.

Green Motion, described as the world’s first carbon negative vehicle hire operation, already offers customers the chance to drive vehicles with the lowest emissions on the road - including the recently added Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion - while reducing its footprint through carbon offsetting schemes. Now it has gone a step further because every time a customer hires a car, it will plant a tree - in conjunction with Trees4Good.

The tree planting operation will primarily take place in the rainforests of Brazil and Borneo. The idea is to concentrate on reforestation of the areas that have been decimated in order to provide employment for the local population. It is hoped that by planting trees and allowing the locals to subsequently harvest their crops, selling them through the fair trade system, the local population will be deterred from hacking down trees solely to make a quick profit.

There have been criticisms of carbon offsetting schemes in the past, with many having little value for the environment but costing the consumer heavily. However, Richard Lowden, founder of Green Motion, believes this scheme can genuinely make a difference.

He said: “The issue of carbon offsetting is a complicated one, with many carbon-offsetting schemes proving to be valueless both in terms of the benefit to the environment and also to the customers paying for the privilege. In many cases, standard carbon offsetting schemes, some of which have been adopted by our competitors, do more harm than good and can be described as green wash.

“We feel that Trees4Good is the perfect partner for Green Motion as they are not only committed to saving the environment but have taken an extremely moral and sustainable approach.”

For more information on Green Motion visit greenmotion.co.uk.

Green Motion Vehicle Rentals in Oxford is pleased to announce that it has taken delivery of its first Golf BlueMotion, improving the array of vehicles offered to customers. The vehicle was officially handed over by Volkswagen’s Rental and Direct Sales Manager, Nick Berry, at Volkswagen UK’s headquarters in Milton Keynes.

The Golf BlueMotion joins its sister vehicle, the Polo BlueMotion, on Green Motion’s fleet and further enhances the company’s commitment to offer customers the opportunity to hire environmentally-friendly vehicles. The Golf BlueMotion’s CO2 emissions are only 119 g/km and boasts an impressive combined fuel economy of 62.8 mpg.

Richard Lowden, founder of Green Motion, said: “We have received a tremendous amount of interest in Volkswagen�s BlueMotion range and we are delighted to see the Golf on fleet.”

Max Jacobs, the owner of Green Motion’s Oxford location commented: “As the Golfs were being taken off the transporter, the phone began to ring with enquiries. We have further Golf BlueMotions on order and are also looking forward to introducing further models from the Volkswagen BlueMotion range including Passat, Touran and Sharan.”

Volkswagen Golf Match BlueMotion 1.9TDi road test report

Green Motion Vehicle Rentals - 08700 600 600 or visit www.greenmotion.com

For more details on BlueMotion and other Volkswagen products visit www.volkswagen.co.uk