London Carsharing Goes Electric As Zipcar Adds 325 New Electric Cars To The Network

Zipcar, the largest carsharing network in the UK, has announced that it will be adding 325 new Volkswagen e-Golfs to its carsharing network, in partnership with VW.

The flood of VW e-Golfs into the city will start with the addition of 100 new e-Golfs to the London network this summer followed by an additional 225 e-Golfs by the end of 2018. That will make the Zipcar electric vehicle fleet in London the largest pool of electric carsharing cars in the UK.

Jonathan Hampson, General Manager for Zipcar UK, said: “In encouraging this change we have always wanted to use the cleanest possible vehicles, which is why we’re incredibly proud and excited to team up with Volkswagen for this zero emissions initiative. It marks another step towards our vision for a greener London where car sharers outnumber car owners, making our amazing city an even better place to live for all.”

The new electric offerings on Zipcar will be available to customers via Zipcar’s Flex service offering that gives drivers flexibility with by-the-minute billing and the capability for drivers to take the cars on one-way trips throughout London. As with all additions to the Zipcar network, the new vehicles will be available right there in the app with all the other cars, offering a seamless transition to the new electric cars.

“This is an exciting step for Volkswagen. Thousands of Zipcar members will experience electric driving, perhaps for the first time, and we know they will love the functionality and ease of use that the all-electric e-Golf provides,” Alison Jones, Managing Director of Volkswagen UK, said. “Inner-city residents are looking for alternatives to car ownership and this development of the relationship between Volkswagen and Zipcar offers the best of both worlds: on-demand driving and zero emission motoring across the UK’s capital.”

The cars are a great way for the curious, the committed, and those who could care less to get their butts into the seat of an electric vehicle where they will inevitably notice just how much fun they are to drive, how much quieter they are, and how … normal they are. From the press release, it’s clear that Zipcar has high hopes about the potential to affect change with the new cars as well:

“By making electric driving more widely accessible and available to Londoners, it’s hoped the introduction of 300+ shared EV cars will help break down current barriers to greater EV adoption and take electric driving from niche to mainstream in the capital.”