Indianapolis to see a French invasion of the EV car-sharing kind

By Nick Jaynes Published June 11, 2013

Bollore Bluecar — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The French are coming to take over the streets of Indianapolis. Well, at least in electric car form. French company Bolloré Group is primed to invest $35-million into a citywide all-electric car sharing program with 1,200 charging stations and 500 EVs.

Bolloré originally started in Paris where it has logged over 82,000 subscriptions with its 1,800 units of the “Bluecar.” Penned by Italian design firm Pininfarina, the Bluecar is a 67-horsepower compact electric car that is assembled in Italy.

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Bolloré aims to divert from competitors like Zipcar by allowing drivers to pick up a car in one location and drop it off in another. Zipcar requires drivers pick up and drop off in the same location.

Indianapolis subscribers of the Bolloré car sharing system will be able to swipe an access card across the windshield, which will unlock the vehicle and set up personalized GPS and radio settings, according to the Indianapolis Star.

What’s even more appealing about the Bolloré system is the drivers only pay for the miles they log.

When the Indianapolis Bolloré program gets into full swing, it’ll be the largest EV sharing program in the U.S., outshining San Diego’s popular Car2Go program.

We at Digital Trends are big proponents of EV mobility. We are wary, though, of drivers unwilling to invest in vehicle ownership, as anecdotally we’ve seen less-than-inspiring driving and parking habits from these car sharers. We hope the French can figure out a way to keep their customers in check on the road.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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