Avis Europe to Offer Renault Electric Cars for Hire from 2011

An Early Renault EV Prototype



How cool would it be to fly into your destination, head over to the Avis desk and proceed to rent an electric car? Or what if you were considering the purchase of a Renault EV and had the opportunity of renting it for a week first? Well, Avis of Europe is going to make the scenarios above a reality. We would love to be able to demo an electric vehicle before making the big commitment of a purchase.

From Green Car Congress:

Avis Europe has partnered with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to offer electric cars to its customers from 2011.

We are delighted to sign this important partnership with Renault to offer electric vehicles as part of our green fleet, which is an increasingly central part of our customer offering. Despite the impact of the recession, consumers are just as aware of the issues of climate change and it is only by working together with our partners that will we be able to make a difference.

—Pascal Bazin, Chief Executive for Avis Europe

From 2011, Renault will progressively roll out four electric vehicles. (Earlier post.) These include two derivatives of internal-combustion vehicles: the Renault Fluence Z.E., an electric version of Fluence; and the Renault Kangoo Express Z.E., an electric version of Renault Kangoo Express, intended primarily for fleet and business use.

The range of electric vehicles will later be extended to cover other segments, including two new cars whose architecture will be designed to run exclusively with electrical power: a car derived from the Twizy Z.E. Concept for motoring in built-up areas; and one that takes its inspiration from Zoe Z.E. Concept and is scheduled to be released at the beginning of 2012. It will be a particularly versatile vehicle intended for everyday motoring in and around cities.

Each car in the Avis Europe fleet is typically only six months old, to ensure maximum fuel efficiency, and the average CO₂ emissions for cars purchased in 2009 was 144.6 g CO₂/km.