French door-to-door car hire firm looks to all-electric future

A car hire firm that delivers vehicles to customers’ doorsteps in Paris and Lyon has had a €24million boost from the state to convert to an all-electric fleet.

Carlili started seven years ago after its co-founder, Vincent Moindrot, noticed how increasingly complicated it was to own a car in cities.

It has managed to grow in a market dominated by large established firms such as Avis and Hertz, mainly by shunning cheap special offers, offering an online reservation and payment platform, and providing door-to-door delivery and pick-up within two hours.

Read more: Renting an electric car in France: where, how and how much?

In many parts of Paris, finding a parking space close to home is challenging. It is not uncommon to see groups of residents all exit their building at around 10:00, when parking restrictions ease, to move cars nearer to where they live.

Environmental focus

Mr Moindrot, a longstanding believer that car hire is better for the planet than car ownership, reiterated his company’s ecological credentials on announcing the €24million capital investment by the state-owned Banque des Territoires and Demeter, a fund the state set up to encourage greener transport in France.

“Our goal is to accelerate towards a world where the car is only used for certain journeys,” he said.

“It will complement the daily use of other, less carbon-intensive forms of transport.”

Carlili hopes to buy 300 Teslas with the money, divided between Model 3 and Y types.

Until now, the firm has relied on the fleets of its partners.

“We want to be a 100% electric car rental company by 2025,” said Mr Moindrot.

It currently still has petrol and diesel vehicles for hire.

Prices and availability

Prices are advertised from €52 per day on the firm’s website for a Citroen C3 or Peugeot 208. Add to that a service fee of €20 for delivery and collection.

At the moment, the service is only available in Paris and Lyon, but there are plans to expand to other cities.

Mr Moindrot said it was not only cars which will move from an ownership to a leasing model in future – he expects expensive household and garden appliances to do so too.

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