Only this week, a car rental scheme has gone like in the French capital of Paris, where Autolib rented out a total of 250 electric cars. The small electric hatchback you see in the picture above is called the Bluecar and it’s a four-seat pure electric number. The campaign is being marketed as a way to deal with the noise and atmospheric pollution in the capital, but it turns out that people just aren’t ready.
According to CarBuzz, a Parisian woman was actually hit by one of these cars because she couldn’t hear it. What’s more, this put a bit of a dent in the image of the program, since it happened just hours after it started.
The woman was taken to hospital but did not suffer injuries besides a couple of bruises. The Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe says there isn’t a link between the accident and the fact that EVs run more silently. He is a supported of the car sharing program and the benefits it brings to the qualitiy of life there, but some automakers have already realized the problem and are offering artificial engine noises for city driving to reduce the risk of pedestrians not hearing the incoming EV.
Autolib is a collaboration between Italian car designer Pininfarina, the local council and French conglomerate Groupe Bollore. It’s believed to offer a range of 250 kilometers on a full charge and under city driving conditions. To use the EVs, Parisians are charged hourly for between €4 and €9 on top of a registration charge.
The woman was taken to hospital but did not suffer injuries besides a couple of bruises. The Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe says there isn’t a link between the accident and the fact that EVs run more silently. He is a supported of the car sharing program and the benefits it brings to the qualitiy of life there, but some automakers have already realized the problem and are offering artificial engine noises for city driving to reduce the risk of pedestrians not hearing the incoming EV.
Autolib is a collaboration between Italian car designer Pininfarina, the local council and French conglomerate Groupe Bollore. It’s believed to offer a range of 250 kilometers on a full charge and under city driving conditions. To use the EVs, Parisians are charged hourly for between €4 and €9 on top of a registration charge.
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