The Bolloré Group’s Bluecar city EV, deployed to date only in the Paris Autolib’ car sharing scheme, is now available to private and corporate lessees at a rate of €500 (US$648) per month in the Ile-de-France region. The rate, higher than a €300/month tariff previewed earlier by Bolloré, is inclusive of comprehensive insurance, the installation of a domestic charging point, privileged access to Paris Autolib’ parking/charging bays, and 24-hour assistance. The Bluecar is not available for outright purchase.
The lease period can range from a minimum three months to a maximum of 20, after which a customer can terminate the lease without penalty.
Leased Bluecars may be blue as the model brand suggests, or silver, whereas the Autolib’ fleet is exclusively silver. The Bluecar is designed by Bolloré and uses the Bolloré Group’s Batscap made-in-France battery packs, but is assembled by Cecomp and Pininfarina in Italy. The EV’s drivetrain offers three driving modes -Normal, Sport, and Ice for better traction in poor road conditions. Maximum speed is given as 80mph and range per full charge is between 95 and 155 miles.
The Autolib’ network has so far reached 1,800 vehicles and 670 parking stations, out of a planned 3,000 vehicles in 1,100 stations. Around 4,000 public charging points of a planned 6,000 have so far been installed in Paris and its surrounding suburbs.
Autolib’ has to date attracted 37,000 members, of whom 13,000 have chosen annual subscriptions, and over half a million rental events have been accomplished. Bolloré now expects the service may reach profitability by 2014, as opposed to the five years’ operation Chief Executive Officer Vincent Bolloré expected when the system launched.
