Renault, PSA unveil plans for electric-car services in Paris

[PARIS] Renault SA and rival French automaker PSA Group unveiled plans for new electric car-sharing services in Paris just days after Mayor Anne Hidalgo pulled the plug on an operation backed by Bollore SA.

The mayor and Renault Chief Operating Officer Thierry Bollore - who has no link with the Bollore company be give details of their plan, the municipality said in an emailed statement. PSA said separately it aims to start its own car-sharing service in the French capital by the end of the year with 500 Peugeot and Citroen electric vehicles.

The announcements come less than three weeks after Renault said it would invest more than 1 billion euros (S$1.59 billion) to boost electric-car production in France. A PSA spokesman said the city is working with a number of mobility providers.

The French capital's existing vehicle-sharing plan came under scrutiny in the months leading up to the June canceling of Bollore's contract for a loss-making service called Autolib. Starting in 2011, the company ran the operation that allowed subscribers to pick up and drop off battery-powered cars parked in the city center and close suburbs. BMW AG and Daimler AG have also been contenders to take over the service.

BLOOMBERG