Skip to main content

First all-electric car-sharing scheme in North America to launch

ECOtality has announced a partnership with Car2go, a subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support what is being claimed as the first 100-per cent electric car sharing programme in North America. With plans for approximately 300 Smart Fortwo electric drive vehicles, the programme in San Diego represents the largest fleet of EVs in the United States.
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS276 ECOtality has announced a partnership with 4190 Car2go, a subsidiary of 2069 Daimler North America Corporation, to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support what is being claimed as the first 100-per cent electric car sharing programme in North America. With plans for approximately 300 Smart Fortwo electric drive vehicles, the programme in San Diego represents the largest fleet of EVs in the United States.

“Innovative car-sharing programmes like Car2go’s service are pivotal to encouraging the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles,” said Jonathan Read, CEO of ECOtality. “As we deploy approximately 1,000 Blink charging stations in the San Diego region as part of The EV Project, we are creating the robust public infrastructure necessary for Car2go’s programme to succeed. Together, we will show that EVs are a perfect fit for the lifestyle of San Diego drivers.”

Car2go’s all-electric programme will begin in San Diego in late 2011. The company provides a total of more than 40,000 members with more than 1,000 low-emission smart fortwo vehicles in four cities.
ECOtality is currently installing approximately 1,000 publicly available Blink charging stations throughout the San Diego region as part of ‘The EV Project’. Data collected by the charging stations will be analysed to better understand how EV drivers charge their car, and help to guide future rollouts of commercial charging stations.

ECOtality is the project manager of The EV Project and will oversee the installation of approximately 14,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 18 major cities and metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide an EV infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 EVs. The project is a public-private partnership, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant and made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Green Light WIM
    July 30, 2012
    Beginning in the 1990s, Oregon was one of the first US states to use weigh-in-motion scales and transponder-based systems to enable trucks to avoid having to stop at weigh stations. Its Green Light preclearance system soon became a model for similar deployments throughout the country. Today, Green Light annually weighs and screens 1.6 million trucks as they approach 21 Oregon weigh stations and it preclears 1.5 million of them.
  • Infrastructure funding and road user charging – debate continues
    February 1, 2012
    Jack Opiola provides an overview of the ongoing debate over US infrastructure funding and the progress – or lack of it – towards vehicles miles travelled road user charging. The future funding of transportation and mobility infrastructure is attracting increased attention. There has been sharp debate in the US, where landmark reports from the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission both stated that the cu
  • Evolving commuters' demands to pave the way for car-sharing business models
    October 5, 2016
    Physical integration of public transit systems with car-sharing will enhance convenience and drive growth opportunities, finds Frost & Sullivan's Mobility Team. Its latest study, Future of Car-sharing Market to 2025, says that with vehicle automation rapidly gaining currency, cars-haring operators (CSOs) are developing novel business models to address the evolving mobility demands of commuters. They will initially offer self-parking services, allowing members to drop off vehicles at designated parking lo
  • Airbiquity and Coulomb partner
    April 17, 2012
    Airbiquity, a specialist in connected vehicle services, and Coulomb Technologies, the creator of the ChargePoint Network, have announced a joint partnership to integrate the ChargePoint Network’s driver services into Airbiquity’s Green Vehicle service portfolio. Using Airbiquity’s connected vehicle service delivery platform, Choreo, the two companies will make ChargePoint Network driver services available to Airbiquity EV customers, including station location, real-time availability and reservations.