The Renault Fluence Z.E. electric car

Renault has delivered two Fluence Z.E. electric cars to two car service firms in London.

Climatecars and greentomatocars are both car service firms (private hire services) whose operations are focused in Central London.

Given that, the move towards electric cars makes perfect sense, especially given the Fluence Z.E.’s 115-mile range and the relatively good availability of charging points in London – compared to the rest of the UK, at any rate.

All four Fluence Z.E. will be based in Central London, with both companies ensuring their costs and electricity usage are minimised through charging via the Source London network and their own in-house charging points.

Co-Founder and Managing Director of greentomatocars, Jonny Goldstone, commented:

“We’re delighted to have taken delivery of our first fully Electric Vehicles and have already taken bookings for 40% of our EV capacity with orders from corporate customers for  Zero Emission shuttle services. We fully intend to add more Zero Emission vehicles to our 250-strong fleet this year.”

Nicko Williamson, founder and MD of Climatecars said:

“The addition of the fully electric Renault Fluence Z.E. to Climatecars fleet marks a crucial step towards our aim of being the worlds first zero emission car service. We are really excited to have partnered with Renault and are looking forward to offering a 100% electric car service to our customers. Climatecars electric vehicle fleet will be operating in Central London and will be priced at the same level as our normal hybrid fleet”.

If you would like to try hiring an electric car to try driving one yourself, then check out our electric car hire page.

I won’t suggest that you could manage without one at all (although you might be able to), but if you live in a two-car household, do you really need both cars?

According to the RAC, owning a car in Britain costs an average of £6,689 per year, a 14% rise on the 2010 figure of £5,870.

Costs have gone up in almost every area over the last year:

• Fuel: +12.4%
• Insurance: +14.38%
• Maintenance: +8.8%
• RAC membership: +4.21%
• Depreciation: +16.67%
• Car finance: +9.85%

In fact, the only motoring cost that has not risen, according to the RAC’s annual Cost of Motoring Index, is Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax).

All of this means that a lightly-used second car can be a financial millstone around your neck. Lightly-used cars depreciate nearly as fast, cost as much to insure, still need servicing and breakdown cover and still need finance.

If you don’t really need a second car, it can be a lot cheaper simply to hire one when you actually need it. Hiring a car eliminates all the costs of ownership and means that you only pay for what you use – with no strings attached.

If you are struggling with the costs of car ownership and think you might be able to manage without one of your cars, then why not work out the figures today?

• Add up your car ownership costs for the year (including depreciation),
• Get a car hire quote for a short hire
• Think about how many times you could hire a car in a year before you break even on the costs of owning a car.

Car clubs and car-sharing schemes are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, Europe and the USA, especially in cities. People are realising that owning a car is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially if you don’t get a lot of use out of it.

What do you think? Is car ownership a part of your personality or a frustrating cost you have to put up with? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Please remember that each location is discounted for 24 hours only from 10am on the day of sale until 10am the next day. For example, UK & Ireland car hire is on sale from 10am 21/11/2011 until 9:59am 22/11/2011.

Monday 21st November
UK and Ireland car hire ->> CLICK HERE

Tuesday 22nd November
Canaries and South Africa car hire ->> CLICK HERE

Wednesday 23rd November
France and Italy car hire ->> CLICK HERE

Thursday 24th November
Portugal and Madeira car hire ->> CLICK HERE

Friday 25th November
Switzerland, Austria and Iceland car hire ->> CLICK HERE

Saturday 26th November
Cyprus and Malta car hire ->> CLICK HERE

All offers are subject to Terms & Conditions – see the Holiday Autos website for full details.

If you will need to hire a car, then early booking is essential – especially if you want to get the cheapest possible rates.

Car Hire Demand ‘Sky High’

The south-east of England will have tens of thousands more visitors than usual – and many of these will need independent transport so will want to hire a car. Even if you are not attending the Olympics, you could still get caught out by the extra demand for hotels, car hire, van hire and airline tickets.

If you will be visiting the UK between the 27th July 2012 and 12th August 2012 and will need to hire a car, we’d recommend starting now with a quote from our car hire booking system, which searches all the major car hire suppliers in London and the UK – click here to get started.

Van Hire Shortages Expected

UK businesses and visitors needing to hire a van should also plan ahead.

Van hire companies are forecasting that there will be a shortage of hire vans in and around London during the Olympic period, which also coincides with the annual busy season for van hire.

If you will need hire vans during the Olympic period, try VanRental.co.uk for a van hire quote.

• London Heathrow Airport
• London Gatwick Airport
• London Luton Airport
• London Kings Cross Railway Station
• London Marble Arch

The electric cars available for hire are Peugeot iOns and Europcar is currently only allowing single day hires so that they can control vehicle recharging and ensure the cars are properly recharged.

The reality is that recharging points are still relatively scarce, even in London, and have not yet become sufficiently standardised to be easy to find and use – although some other companies, such as Hertz, do allow multi-day hires where the vehicle is recharged by the customer.

As a zero emission electric car, the Peugeot iOn is exempt from the London Congestion Charge and generates no CO2 emissions when in use.

Commenting on the announcement, Ken McCall, Managing Director of Europcar Group UK, said:

“Electric vehicles offer huge opportunities for motorists to save money, especially for city driving where they are congestion-charge free and where the stop-start of heavy traffic consumes more fuel”, said Ken McCall. “But for many they are not sure if electric will be truly convenient for them. Car hire is a great way for drivers to put electric to the test – and we have the innovative electric Peugeot iOn’s available at a number of our locations to make it easy for motorists to try before they buy.”

Visit www.europcar.co.uk for more information.

Hertz says that although demand for electric car rental from retail customers is steady, it is corporate demand that is really driving the growth of the service. For corporate customers, electric car hire is an easy way to reduce organisational CO2 emissions and meet environmental targets.

It is also the case that most corporate journeys are pre-planned to a certain extent, meaning that drivers can choose electric cars knowing that charging facilities will be available. Currently, Hertz offers three electric car models – the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and Smart Electric Drive (not all models may be available in all locations).

Hertz currently has 50 electric cars for hire in London, New York, Washington and San Francisco but says it would need to increase its electric fleet to 2,000 – 3,000 cars to meet demand. Hertz is already planning to roll out electric car hire in new locations such as Shanghai this year and says it hopes that car manufacturers will be able to supply enough electric cars to meet this high level of demand.

The offer marks the arrival in Britain of the Team Europcar cycle racing team, which is participating in the Tour of Britain, which started yesterday.

Ken McCall, Managing Director of Europcar Group UK says:

“Team Europcar has performed exceptionally well so far this year and we’re really excited about their arrival in the UK for the Tour of Britain” said Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar Group UK. “We therefore thought it was fitting to mark the success of the Team with a special offer for cycling fans, to help them get round the country and follow the Tour.”

Of course, you don’t have tobe a cycling fan to take advantage of the offer – just visit Europcar’s website and get a car hire quote to find out how much you can save.

Europcar found that nearly 90% of its UK rental fleet suffered some form of damage – from major bodywork damage to flat tyres and windscreen chips and cracks – during 2010.

Despite this, only just over 30% of customers opted for the additional Risk Reduction Cover, which reduces the insurance excess payable by rental customers if the car is damaged during their hire.

It is important to remember that although some types of damage – like windscreen chips and flat tyres – cannot realistically be completely avoided, you, as the rental driver, will still be liable for the cost of repairing them.

Ken McCall, Managing Director at Europcar, explains the situation like this:

If a motorist is driving their own car and has a windscreen chip or a small dink or dent in the car’s bodywork, they can choose to ignore it. Car hire companies simply cannot do that. The next customer will expect a pristine car, so we must ensure damage is repaired as quickly as possible and that means we must recover the cost. That’s why it makes so much sense for consumers to take out insurance for damage they may incur, including cover to reduce the excess to zero.

While car hire companies do have a reputation for overcharging on the cost of repairing damage, McCall’s point is valid – not only do car hire customers expect the car to be in good condition, but car hire companies’ business models depend on achieving good resale value for their ex-rental cars when they sell them on.

Reducing Your Car Hire Excess

The insurance excess payment for rental cars can be quite high – often several hundred pounds in the UK.

Most car hire companies allow you to reduce this by paying an additional daily fee. Different companies use different names for this, but it is essentially an insurance product that reduces your excess to a low amount or zero.

Europcar offers two products in this area – Risk Reduction Cover, which reduces the excess to zero and includes on additional driver, and Value Cover, which reduces the excess to zero for the most commonly damaged parts of a hire car – tyres, windscreen and glass.

An alternative that makes good sense, especially for regular car hire users, is to purchase additional car hire excess insurance from a third party. You can then claim on this if you have to make an excess payment to your hire company.

One of the best products on the market is iCarHireInsurance, which offers both daily and annual policy options and can provide cover for car hire all over the world. It is usually cheaper to buy seperate car hire excess insurance than it is to buy car hire excess insurance directly from hire companies.

• Save up to 30% on Miami Car Hire – Click Here
• Save up to 20% on Italy Car Hire – Click Here

Subject to terms & conditions. Valid until 16th September 2011.

If you have always fancied trying one or would perhaps like to buy a very special gift for your other half, there is now an easy way to do it.

Caterham is operating a Hire-A-7 service through Caterham dealers around the UK. Running until the end of October each year, the Hire-A-7 service is available from the following locations:

• Caterham South, Surrey;
• Caterham Midlands, Leicester;
• Open Road Hire, Scottish Highlands;
• Mark on Europe, Swindon;
• Seven Hire, Gloucestershire.
• Roadsport Hire in Yorkshire;
• Highlands Caterham Hire in Scotland;
• Hire 7, Northern Ireland.

Sevens are priced from £175 for one day’s hire (including 120 free miles) or £325 for two days (including 240 free miles), vehicles can also be loaned from Friday to Monday.

For more information, visit www.caterham.co.uk.