The Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KL Electric Mobility, announcing the introduction of new electric vehicle sharing service, KL Electric A-gogo.
Over a period of two years, a total of RM1.5 billion will be invested for establishing around 3,000 dedicated charging stations at strategic locations.
This vehicle rental platform will provide service to members by paying a fixed amount of money for the convenience of using the electric cars.
Initially in the first quarter of 2015, a total of 150 electric cars will be introduced at a cost of US$10-20 million with 10-50 charging stations built in the Golden Triangle region of the city, according to KL Electric Mobility official statement.
For Malaysia, KL Electric Mobility plans to reproduce parallel Autolib carsharing program running France, employing the same model Bolloré Bluecar, manufactured by Cecomp in Italy.
The Bluecar is a three-door, five- seater, which on full charge can cover a distance of 200-240 km.
At present, the company is offering four packages in different rates for the daily, weekly, monthly and annual subscription.
The daily package will cost RM50 for a half hour period, meant for tourists. The membership fee is available in three slots like RM50, RM125 and RM600 for which the respective half an hour travelling will cost RM35, RM32 and RM30.
Currently, the company is working with Malaysian transportation sector for the fifth fuel adaption as well as for the strategic promotion of EV usage to provide cheap and clean energy for the nation, aiming to achieve a zero-carbon environment by 2030.
COMOS is another car rental firm that already offers a similar program along with Renault Zoe, Twizy and the Nissan Leaf.
In October, a MoU between First Energy Networks (FEN) and GreenTech Malaysia was signed with the aim of expanding EV charging infrastructure throughout the nation.
First Energy has a government grant to establish the aforementioned infrastructure.
KL Electric Mobility is looking ambitious as it plans to cover both the EV car sharing service as well as the establishment of the charging infrastructure.
Sabeena Wahid
[email protected]