The Hertz Corporation has announced that through its partnership with Italo-NTV, the first European private high speed railway operator, Italo customers will be able to rent stylish smart fortwo electric drives from the Hertz locations at the Rome Tiburtina and Rome Ostiense train stations.
These electric vehicles can be booked from just 8 euros per hour through the website http://www.hertzitalo.it using the special Italo discount code, and will be powered at charging units provided by Enel, Italy’s largest electric utility.
The program is an important step in the Manifesto di Roma Capitale (Rome Manifesto) to increase the number of electric vehicles and other sustainability initiatives in Italy’s capital city. Electric vehicles in Rome have free of charge access to designated parking areas and no ZTL (city center zone) limits.
The smart fortwo electric drive offers no compromises in safety, agility, comfort and space. The zero emissions two-seater is powered by a lithium-ion battery developed by Tesla Motors Inc. A fully charged battery is sufficient for up to 135 kilometers of driving fun. The discounted rental rates from just 8 euros per hour for the smart fortwo electric drive are available to Italo customers as part of the exclusive partnership agreement between Hertz and Italo-NTV.
Hertz is the first car-rental company to deploy EVs and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric) on three continents – in the U.S. (available to the public in New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco), the U.K. (London), China (Shenzhen), and now in Italy. Hertz added the smart fortwo electric drive to its EV fleet in the US in 2010, with the zero-emission car now available in San Francisco, New York and Washington, DC.
Hertz plans to increase its global EV presence by deploying vehicles in other countries in the coming months. Hertz Global EV will continue to leverage the company’s rental and car sharing locations as bases for vehicles and charging stations, and tap into its technology – including sophisticated fleet management tools and consumer-facing GPS systems, including Hertz NeverLost in the U.S. – to help form an EV grid.
