Daimler has announced plans to launch its car2go carsharing scheme in Amsterdam next month using 300 smart fortwo electric vehicles.
Beginning November 24th, 300 smart fortwo electric drive vehicles will be available for on-demand mobility, without the necessity of returning them to a fixed rental station. The number will increase significantly up to 1,000 by end of 2012.
Even recharging of the electric vehicles is not mandatory after each rental, because the range of the smart fortwo electric drive is eight to ten times higher than the average operating distance of a car2go rental.
Together with Amsterdam’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which only uses energy from renewable resources, the car2go fleet of local zero emission cars is improving air quality and, due to the compact smart two-seater vehicle, is saving valuable space in the city center, of the beautiful capital of the Netherlands.
The launch of car2go Amsterdam will introduce a completely new pricing structure for car2go, not only for Amsterdam but also for existing and future car2go locations throughout Europe. One minute of car2go driving costs 29 Cent. The hourly rate will be 12,90 Euro and there will be a daily rate of 39 Euro (24 hours). If car2go is used for stop-overs, a special parking rate of 9 Cent per minute (5,40 Euro per hour) will be calculated. Insurance, taxes, electricity and parking costs are fully included in this price.
In Amsterdam, due to the limited range of electric vehicles, kilometers will not be limited. In the other European cities where car2go is operating combustion engine vehicles, the first 20 kilometers are included in the rate. Additional kilometers will cost 29 Cent each. Based on the experience of hundreds of thousands car2go rentals in four cities worldwide, more than 95 percent of all car2go rentals will not hit the 20 kilometers mark, so that for the majority of the customers the new pricing scheme is a great price-cut.
Interested citizens can register for the program immediately, either online at www.car2go.com or by visiting the new car2go shop, which is located at Oude Spiegelstraat 6a. Registration is for free until the launch date. Afterwards there will be a one-time registration fee of 10 Euro before customers get their membercards.
car2go Amsterdam will operate in an area of 80 square kilometers, which covers large parts of the city. The approximate dimension of this business area is within the highway belt, excluding Amsterdam North but with so called “Hubs” in Zuidas, Arena and IJburg. Customers can drive with their car2go everywhere during the rental period, but must return to the business area to finish the rental. The vehicles can be picked-up and dropped-off at any public parking spot inside the business area or at one of 36 specially marked car2go parking spots in six “Q-Park” garages in the city centre.
The rental does not need to be ended every time at a charging station. However, if the battery capacity (state of charge) is lower than 20 percent, rentals must be finished at one of the charging stations, which are displayed in the on-board navigation. If the battery level is lower than 40 percent, drivers will receive 10 free minutes for re-charging the car. The charging does not need to be completed before a car2go can be rented again: if there is a minimum 50 percent state of charge, the vehicle is available for the next customer.
All 300 smart fortwo electric drive vehicles are equipped with latest telematics technology, allowing fully automated, easy and convenient rental operations. It allows customers to rent the cars spontaneously without having the burden to commit to a specific return time or location. The cars have a lithium-ion traction battery, an automatic gearbox and a range of 135 km. On-board are air-conditioning, a radio and a navigation system.
