Two companies based in China's eastern coastal province of Zhejiang have established the first electric car rental service in the south central province of Hunan.
Car manufacturing companies Geely Holding Group and Kandi Technologies opened the rental center on Monday in the capital Changsha, marking the introduction of the electric minibus technology to the city, according to its government's website.
About 1,000 of these electric buses will be made available in the rental market by the end of the year, and those interested to avail them need to present their driver's license and pay 200 yuan monthly.
"Because the number of the cars is limited, they are only available for rent at the moment," said Chen Weiqiang, chairman of Hunan Dadi New Energy Vehicles Company, which rents out the cars.
The zero-emission feature of the cars makes them environment-friendly, and, requiring less than five yuan to cover an 80-kilometer distance, they are cost-effective, too.
In addition to these, they are easy to park, according to the report.
Chen said that the cars, which are currently available in two-seat and four-seat types, can run for 80 kilometers on one charge and the fastest they can go is 80 kilometers per hour.
Although one charging session takes six to eight hours to complete, the microbuses show improvements from other types as they require only a 220-volt standard power outlet for charging, as opposed to other electric cars needing a special battery to recharge.