Europcar Launches New Generation Electric Cars

LONDON, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Europcar, the European leader in car hire, has announced that the first new-generation electric vehicles to hit the European car hire market, the Peugeot iON and Citroen C-Zero, will be introduced in 2011. The new vehicles will allow Europcar customers to drive up to 150km with a fully charged battery. The vehicles will be silent and will not emit any CO2 or other pollutants, further enhancing their ecological benefit.

After the introduction of the two new models, Europcar will gradually install the infrastructure needed to recharge the batteries at its 2,500 car hire locations around Europe. This agreement enhances Europcar's offering in terms of zero-emissions fleet and further illustrates the company's commitment to promoting green mobility through green car hire.

The agreement to launch the Peugeot iON and Citroen C-Zero into the car hire market was signed at the Paris Motor Show in the presence of PSA Peugeot Citreon's Jean-Marc Gales, Executive Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and After Sales and Christian Peugeot, Central Marketing Director.

Philippe Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer of Europcar Group said: "We are proud of this new partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroen because it is in keeping with Europcar's core commitments to sustainable development and technological innovation. With this agreement, we want to further demonstrate our ability to innovate and contribute to the emergence of new mobility solutions."

Europcar has been a pioneer in sustainable development since opening its first environmental station for electric cars in Paris in 1999 and it further strengthens its environmental strategy through this partnership.

About Europcar

Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. The company serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Excluding franchise operations, in 2009 Europcar signed 9.5 million rental contracts, with 7,000 employees and a fleet exceeding 190,000 vehicles. In September 2008, Europcar and U.S. market leader Enterprise Holdings joined forces in a strategic commercial alliance to form the world's largest car rental network, with more than 1.2 million vehicles and 13,000 locations around the world. Europcar is owned by the French investment company Eurazeo.

Europcar is the European market leader and is also leading in its environmental approach to car rental. It opened its first "environmental agency" in Paris in 1999, and in 2008 it was the first company in Europe to have its "Environmental Charter" - which formalizes its commitments in favor of sustainable development - certified by Bureau Veritas.

SOURCE Europcar