From tying up with Ford to launching the Facebook app and investing in the college P2P car-sharing Wheelz, Zipcar is pulling out all the stops to become the favorite among young drivers. Zipcar will then ask for your driver’s license and payment information. Before Zipcar can approve your application, they’ll need to verify your driver’s license. This typically takes one business day, though it can take longer in some cases. Assuming Zipcar has verified your driver’s license, they’ll approve your application. Join with a university. I want to create a new account for myself (I'm a student or faculty/staff) I want to create a new department account (I'm faculty/staff).
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May 30th, 2018 by Kyle Field
Zipcar, the largest carsharing network in the UK, has announced that it will be adding 325 new Volkswagen e-Golfs to its carsharing network, in partnership with VW.
The flood of VW e-Golfs into the city will start with the addition of 100 new e-Golfs to the London network this summer followed by an additional 225 e-Golfs by the end of 2018. That will make the Zipcar electric vehicle fleet in London the largest pool of electric carsharing cars in the UK.
Jonathan Hampson, General Manager for Zipcar UK, said: “In encouraging this change we have always wanted to use the cleanest possible vehicles, which is why we’re incredibly proud and excited to team up with Volkswagen for this zero emissions initiative. It marks another step towards our vision for a greener London where car sharers outnumber car owners, making our amazing city an even better place to live for all.”
The new electric offerings on Zipcar will be available to customers via Zipcar’s Flex service offering that gives drivers flexibility with by-the-minute billing and the capability for drivers to take the cars on one-way trips throughout London. As with all additions to the Zipcar network, the new vehicles will be available right there in the app with all the other cars, offering a seamless transition to the new electric cars.
“This is an exciting step for Volkswagen. Thousands of Zipcar members will experience electric driving, perhaps for the first time, and we know they will love the functionality and ease of use that the all-electric e-Golf provides,” Alison Jones, Managing Director of Volkswagen UK, said. “Inner-city residents are looking for alternatives to car ownership and this development of the relationship between Volkswagen and Zipcar offers the best of both worlds: on-demand driving and zero emission motoring across the UK’s capital.”
The cars are a great way for the curious, the committed, and those who could care less to get their butts into the seat of an electric vehicle where they will inevitably notice just how much fun they are to drive, how much quieter they are, and how … normal they are. From the press release, it’s clear that Zipcar has high hopes about the potential to affect change with the new cars as well:
“By making electric driving more widely accessible and available to Londoners, it’s hoped the introduction of 300+ shared EV cars will help break down current barriers to greater EV adoption and take electric driving from niche to mainstream in the capital.”
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If you're an automaker, how do you get the next generation of car buyers to pay attention to your new models?
One way has traditionally been by putting your cars into rental fleets. But some companies only rent to drivers 25 and up, so what to do about college students?
For Ford, there's now a one-word answer: Zipcar.
Zipcar on campus
The popular and growing car-sharing service [NSDQ:ZIP] has made a concerted effort to place its cars on or near college campuses, offering students the options of cars when they need them without the burden and cost of parking, insurance, and maintenance when they don't.
University administrators like the college car-sharing schemes too, since shared cars reduce the space required for parking student vehicles. On space-constrained campuses (meaning most of them), that's real estate that could more productively be used for classroom buildings, research labs, or dormitories.
Ford [NYSE:F] will be the largest single provider of vehicles to Zipcar's more than 250 college locations, the two companies announced today. The agreement will run for two years, and Ford vehicles arriving on campuses now will be available to student members starting September 1st.
Ford chairman Bill Ford and Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith with 2012 Ford Focus
Focus and Escape
In promotions to students, Ford pictures its Focus compact hatchback and Escape small crossover as two of the vehicles that will be offered through Zipcar. Although it touts gas mileage 'up to 40 mpg' for the Focus, it's unclear whether the company will provide the special Focus SFE model that achieves this EPA highway rating.
And the Escape model described is the standard Escape--with a highway rating up to 28 mpg--not the pricier Escape Hybrid, which offers far higher gas mileage at a premium of several thousand dollars.
Both vehicles include the Sync voice-command system for controlling personal electronic devices like music players and smartphones--which Ford expects to appeal to digitally connected college students.
Reservevia smartphone
Zipcar members can reserve cars on their smartphones or via the web from minutes to months ahead of their desired time slot. The Zipcard they receive in the mail lets them unlock the car when they reach it, and there's also an app that lets them do it via smartphone as well.
When the student is done with the car, he or she returns it to the original parking space, locks it up, and walks away. Zipcar handles the gasoline and all maintenance.
Zipcar will add the 2012 Ford Focus to its college car-sharing locations
Joining the service takes only a week, Zipcar says, which the company uses to check all new members' driving records.
Zipcar Members Account
Buying by the song, and the mile
Students aren't a new market for Zipcar, but they have different outlooks on driving, cars, and how they approach their purchases, according to the car-sharing company.
“We’ve had Zipcars on campuses for more than eight years and as a result we’ve learned a lot from the next generation of drivers,' says Scott Griffith, Zipcar's CEO. 'We’re targeting a generation that only knows how to buy music by the song, so paying for a car by the hour is a natural for them.'
Add Driver To Zipcar Account
The Ford deal includes $10 off the $35 annual membership fee for the first 100,000 students who sign up for Zipcar, plus $1 per hour off the rate for the first one million hours logged by college students in Ford vehicles.
Add Driver To Zipcar
Ford expects students to rack up 2 million driving hours a year in its cars through the program.
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Add Zipcar Driver To Account
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