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People in Stuttgart can now drive cars completely electrically for 29 cents per minute. Daimler today launched its car2go mobility concept in its “home town,” using vehicles equipped solely with electric drive systems. car2go is operating Germany’s biggest all-electric fleet in Stuttgart, encompassing a total of 300 battery-electric smart brand cars. EnBW will set up 500 charging points throughout the city and its surrounding region until end of 2013 so that drivers can recharge electricity from renewable sources of energy.“car2go offers affordable electric mobility for everyone. Thanks to car2go, people in Stuttgart can see for themselves that electric drive systems are suited for everyday use,” said Daimler CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche at the mobility concept’s official launch in the New Palace of Baden-Württemberg’s capital city. “With the launch of car2go in Stuttgart, Daimler is once again underscoring its innovation leadership with regard to new mobility concepts and new technologies.”
Residents and visitors of Stuttgart can now travel in an electric car at any time and on the spur of the moment. On their smartphones or the Internet, customers can see where the nearest unoccupied car2go vehicle is located. Using their membership cards, drivers can open the vehicle without any prior booking and lock the door again once their trip is over. Customers can leave car2go vehicles standing at any public parking lot within the 75-square-kilometer service area, which is scheduled to be expanded next year to include selected regions in the greater Stuttgart area.
The LivingLab for zero-emission driving
The launch of car2go is the first milestone in Baden-Württemberg’s “Living Lab BWe mobil” showcase program for electric mobility. As part of this program, numerous projects funded by the federal and state governments will kick off in the coming weeks. The project partners of car2go are the state of Baden-Württemberg, the city of Stuttgart, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, and Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG.
At the press conference in the New Palace, Baden-Württemberg Premier Winfried Kretschmann emphasized the significance of electric drive systems for environmental protection and for Baden-Württemberg as a business location. “With its new concepts and a public infrastructure, electric mobility is taking off right where the automobile was originally invented,” he said. “The charging stations that were set up with the help of the state can now be used for all electric vehicles. Environmentally friendly driving has thus become more convenient in Stuttgart than anywhere else in Germany. That makes us exemplary and a showcase for electric mobility in the best sense of the word. It demonstrates once again that southwestern Germany is seizing the initiative.”Stuttgart Mayor Dr. Wolfgang Schuster had the following to say: “The mobility system of the future will be socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and conducive to economic growth. What we’re talking about here is affordable mobility for everyone - with much lower resource consumption and, above all, less fossil energy use, as well as less air pollution and noise. Stuttgart therefore needs to seize the opportunity to become a center of electric mobility.” The city is also moving ahead with numerous other measures within the framework of the showcase project. Among other things, plans call for car2go to be linked with other municipal transportation services, in particular with the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) public transport company.
“Electric cars need a comprehensive, functional and customer-friendly charging infrastructure. This means they simply need energy, which we are supplying for car2go vehicles and many other electric cars on Stuttgart’s streets,” said Dr. Frank Mastiaux, Chairman of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, about the importance of the charging infrastructure.
Electric driving for 29 cents per minute
The use of a fully electric smart two-seater in Stuttgart costs the same as a drive with a gasoline-powered vehicle at other car2go locations: 29 euro cents per minute of driving - a price that also includes taxes, insurance, and electricity for the first 20 kilometers traveled. There are no parking fees, and when drivers pull over and stop their cars, the price falls to nine cents per parked minute. The discounted hourly and daily flat rates are €12.90 and €39, respectively.
As is the case in other cities, Stuttgart’s car2go service is jointly organized by Daimler's car2go subsidiary and the Europcar vehicle rental company. Registration is required, but the process can easily be completed at the car2go shop (Stephanstraße 25) and at the Europcar outlets on Friedrichstraße, in the main train station, and in Vaihingen and Bad Cannstatt. Public transport customers can use car2go by obtaining a mobility pass at a Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) customer center. Registration for car2go will remain free of charge until the end of the year - and all new customers will also be credited 30 minutes of free driving. Moreover, customers from car2go’s other German locations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, and Ulm can use their membership cards to access the service in Stuttgart without any need for further registration. Conversely, Stuttgart car2go customers can drive the white and blue cars in the cities mentioned above without any additional formalities.
car2go - a pioneer and a world market leader for flexible carsharing
When car2go was first tested by Daimler in 2008, it simultaneously established a new segment for flexible carsharing services. With its launch in Stuttgart, car2go is now available in 16 cities in Europe and North America. The company currently has around 250,000 customers - more than four times as many as were registered at the beginning of the year. As a result, car2go is now the fastest-growing carsharing company in the world. A car2go vehicle is rented around once every four seconds on average around the globe. This mobility concept will be available in more than 50 cities worldwide by the middle of the decade. Daimler’s car2go GmbH subsidiary is part of the Group’s Financial Services division (Daimler Financial Services AG).
The Stuttgart car2go system is also operated by car2go Deutschland GmbH, a joint venture between the Daimler subsidiary car2go GmbH and the Europcar vehicle rental company. car2go customers who apply for a Europcar partner card can also rent vehicles from the company’s entire product range at a special discounted rate. More specifically, the partner card grants customers a 15 percent discount on Europcar’s best available daily rate, thus ideally complementing car2go whenever a smart fortwo would be insufficient for tasks such as long-distance trips or transporting bulky loads.
Comprehensive charging station coverage
Operation of the fully electric car2go fleet is made possible by an extensive and publicly accessible charging infrastructure that is being established by EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG as part of the showcase project. car2go customers and all other drivers of electric vehicles can now recharge their cars at around 300 charging points. The charging stations’ locations were jointly selected by the city and the district advisory councils. EnBW will increase the number of charging stations in Stuttgart and the surrounding region to 500 by the end of 2013. The electricity supplied to the electric vehicles is produced exclusively from renewable energy sources. The smart fortwo car2go models have a range of up to 140 kilometers; the average trip taken with the vehicles ranges from five to 15 kilometers. Customers are automatically requested to proceed to a charging station whenever their vehicle’s battery charge drops below a certain level.
car2go and “moovel”
The use of electric drives isn’t the only thing that sets car2go in Stuttgart apart from the rest, as the concept was completely integrated into Daimler’s “moovel” mobility platform from the very beginning. moovel itself has been undergoing testing in Stuttgart since July 2012 and in Berlin since the end of October. The system’s user-friendly app allows customer to compare different mobility options and thus determine the optimal way to get from Point A to Point B.
moovel provides information about both private and public transport. In Stuttgart, it therefore includes data from Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB), Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart GmbH (VVS), and the strategic partner carpooling.com GmbH (mitfahrgelegenheit.de). Beginning today, the moovel app also shows car2go vehicles that are available for immediate reservation near any given location..jpg)
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car2go today announced that 18 new dedicated electric vehicle charging points are available in three Amsterdam Q-Park garages. After successfully launching car2go in November 2011, more than 7.000 members are using the service for their trips in the Amsterdam city center. To locate available vehicles, car2go provides all members with a free Dutch Smartphone application and is going to introduce its driving style analysis called “EcoScore” to reduce power consumption.New parking spots at Q-Park garages
The 18 new car2go parking spots with electric vehicle charging poles at the popular Q-Park garages Mahler, Bijenkorf and De Kolk are exclusively available for car2go drivers from now. Members can find the parking spots following the signage at the entrance of the garages. Fees for parking at the garages and charging the car2go vehicle are included in the rental fee of 0,29 € per driving minute and 0,09 € per “stop over” minute. The new charging points will make it even easier for car2go users to access busy areas of the city to charge their car2go. Another advantage is that the existing charging infrastructure of 400 poles will be freed up. The additional charging points at Q-Park have been made possible thanks to a subsidy from the Municipality of Amsterdam. Parking at public charging points in Amsterdam is only permitted if the vehicle is connected to the charging point; this applies for all car2go and other electric vehicles.
Successful launch phase in Amsterdam
The Daimler subsidiary car2go successfully launched its first European all-electric carsharing network in Amsterdam in November 2011 with 300 smart fortwo electric drive. To date, more than 7.000 people have registered for the service renting the vehicles around 5,000 times a week with a strong upward trend.
“With our all-electric car2go fleet in Amsterdam, we have launched one of the biggest markets for electric vehicle sharing in Europe giving thousands of people the opportunity to drive electric cars,” said Robert Henrich, CEO of car2go. “We are exited to see how easily and enthusiastically people are integrating electric mobility in their daily lives.”
New car2go app now available in Dutch
Since the start of operations in Amsterdam in November 2011, customer feedback helped to improve the service and several technology features have been introduced to the members. In April, the first official car2go application named “car2go” was launched for iOS systems (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and is available in Dutch amongst other languages. It can be downloaded for free at the app store and helps members find and book the closest available car2go vehicle in their city. An application for Android systems will be available in June.
EcoScore driving analysis to be introduced in summer
Furthermore, an innovative driving style analysis called EcoScore will be introduced in the course of this summer. The application can be seen on the touch screen inside of each car and provides drivers with information on the environmental compatibility of their driving style. The EcoScore app monitors acceleration, deceleration and cruising behaviors. Three trees on the display will either grow or shrink, whereby the bigger the trees, the higher the overall EcoScore. The index is used to calculate the effect of the driving style on power consumption and aims to support safer driving thanks to thoughtful driving. The first stage of the EcoScore program is purely for informational purposes, but it’s also possible that drivers with a driving style that is particularly environmentally friendly could be rewarded in the future. Experience in other car2go cities showed that car2go drivers are enthusiastically monitoring their personal EcoScore whilst saving power and arriving safely at their destination.
More than 100.000 car2go members worldwide
car2go is the market leader for flexible short-term rentals and has already successfully launched in eleven cities in Europe, USA and Canada. More than 100,000 members have registered for the service worldwide. A total of more than 4,000 car2go vehicles (including 625 smart fortwo electric drive models) are currently on the road and have been rented more than two million times. Amsterdam is the first home of car2go in the Netherlands and one of Europe’s first all-electric carsharing networks.Credits: Daimler AGCopyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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car2go North America LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, announced today it will expand its carsharing operations in Canada and the United States this summer, making urban mobility more convenient, more flexible, and more widely available than ever before. car2go will officially start operations in Toronto on June 30, in Calgary on July 21 and in Miami, Florida on July 28. Member registration for all three cities opens today at car2go.com, offering free membership and free driving time for a limited time.
“As car2go continues to grow and spread its carsharing business throughout North America and throughout the world, more people will have access to an entirely new form of automobility,” said Bodo Uebber, member of the Board of Management at Daimler AG and chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler Financial Services, the division at Daimler responsible for car2go. “The success of car2go around the world to date shows that we are in a time that demands and calls for new mobility solutions in urban settings, and Daimler is at the forefront of this movement.”
Developed four years ago at the Daimler Business Innovation Unit in Stuttgart, Germany, car2go currently provides more than 4,000 fuel-efficient smart fortwo vehicles (including 625 electric drive cars) to more than 100,000 members worldwide for shared use. Collectively car2go members have taken more than two million trips throughout 11 cities worldwide. The number of car2go cities, members, and trips has more than doubled within the past six months.
“We are proud to continue our expansion of car2go throughout Canada and the United States this summer,” said Nicholas Cole, president and CEO of car2go North America. “Soon, the cities of Toronto, Calgary and Miami will have access to the unprecedented flexibility and convenience of the car2go way of carsharing.”
“The people who live, work and visit these cities will join the ranks of more than 50,000 car2go members in North America who have access to our service every day,” Cole went on to say. “car2go is not only becoming a recognizable part of each new city we enter, but we are also becoming a fundamental part of people’s daily lives.”
A Different Way to Carshare
Each car2go city in North America has a large network of 200 to 300 fuel-efficient smart fortwo cars that are available for members to use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As the world’s first free-floating carsharing service, car2go provides a new way of carsharing that is unique, particularly in these three areas:
FREE FLOATING: Members can pick up and drop off any car2go anywhere within the car2go Home Area — they do not need to drive the car back to its original location or commit to a predetermined amount of time. They can simply drive the car for as long as they need it, park the car at their destination, and end the rental by swiping the card on the windshield reader. At this moment the car becomes available for the next member to use.
PAY BY THE MINUTE: Members pay by the minute for the actual time they use the car, with discounted rates for hourly and daily use. There is no minimum amount of time that a car can be used — whether they need a car for ten minutes or an entire day, members simply get in and drive, for as long as they want, without a mandatory return time or location. Parking fees, fuel, maintenance and insurance are included at no additional cost, and there are no annual or monthly fees.
ON DEMAND: Members can use the first available car2go they find, via a smart phone app, with the car2go vehicle finder at car2go.com, by calling the customer call center, or by simply locating an available car2go on the street. Members can also reserve a vehicle up to 24 hours in advance, although reservations are not required. Members have unrestricted and unlimited access to car2go vehicles 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Registration Begins Now
Member registration for all three cities opens today, June 13 at Toronto.car2go.com, Calgary.car2go.com and Miami.car2go.com. For a limited time, people can use a promotion code to receive 30 free minutes of driving time and have the one-time $35 membership fee waived: Codes are TDOT for Toronto, ONWARD for Calgary and HEAT for Miami.
Follow car2go on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook:
Toronto: @car2goToronto and facebook.com/car2go.Toronto
Calgary: @car2goCalgary and facebook.com/car2go.Calgary
Miami: @car2goMiami and facebook.com/car2go.Miami
For media inquires, please contact:
Katie Stafford, car2go North America
Phone: 512-497-5826
Email: katie.stafford@daimler.comCredits: Daimler AGCopyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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car2go GmbH Managing Director Robert Henrich says, “Two million car2go rentals not only make us happy; they also show just how enthusiastic our 100,000 customers are about the system. As a pioneer and the only international company to offer such a flexible short-term rental service, we also now have a wealth of experience, in large part due to our ongoing dialogue with our customers. This is enabling us to expand rapidly all over the world and to further improve our service in line with customer feedback.”
More than 4,000 smart fortwo vehicles are currently operating in the 12 car2go cities, including 625 battery-electric smart fortwo electric drive models, which are being used in Amsterdam, San Diego, and Ulm. The regularly scheduled maintenance and cleaning of the cars makes the system extremely reliable and leads to great customer satisfaction.Credits: Daimler AG Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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