Hertz has recently announced that it will be expanding its London operations to include electric vehicle hire within its car sharing division. Under the new expansion 100% electric vehicles manufactured by Mitsubishi motors will be available for a rate of just 4 pounds per hour. To facilitate the charging of these vehicles Hertz will be providing sixteen charging stations throughout the greater London area.

In addition, customers will be able to access the planned public charging areas that will be offered by Source London in the near future. Hertz will be offering these electric vehicles to university and corporate customers of the Connect by Hertz division as well. The electric vehicles offered by Hertz have a travel range of 90 miles and are capable of retaining 80% of their power after being charged for just a half an hour. Mark Frissora, CEO of Hertz Corporation, recently commented that the interest shown by Connect by Hertz members is what inspired the expansion to offering electric vehicles to the standard consumer base.

By combining the efficiency and environmentally friendly aspects of electrical vehicles with the advantages of car sharing and car hire Hertz has introduced a revolutionary service that will likely change the car hire industry for years to come. Ultimately, Hertz plans to create a futuristic electric vehicle grid using their current car sharing locations as interfaces for charging stations and vehicle pickup and drop-off locations. Time will tell if Hertz will be the first rental company to offer electric cars in Australia. See here for their current range of rental cars.