ZD mini rolls into Europe car time-sharing market

The ZD mini on display at an expo of electric vehicles in Canada. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shandong Xindayang Electric Vehicle Co Ltd－maker of the popular ZD mini electric vehicle－said it is moving into the fast lane to promote and expand its time-sharing rental business in the European market, amid growing demand for small EVs on the Continent.

Car time-sharing, a new model in the car rental industry, has been successfully promoted in European countries, and the Chinese company's ZD brand of EVs are appearing in cities across Italy, including Rome, Milan, Florence, Turin and Pisa.

ZD started a time-sharing rental business in Milan in July 2015.

"Chinese families need to own at least one car, but Europeans want a cheap and convenient driving experience and prefer to rent a car," said Michael Bai, director of international marketing.

"We first exported EVs to Italy at the end of 2012 and sold about 300 to 400 units in 2013. We started the leasing business in 2015 as we developed a car time-sharing rental system," said Bai.

Although ZD concentrated on retail business in Europe at the start, now it is giving top priority to car rentals, regarding the retail business as a supplement.

The company currently has 800 electric vehicles and 40,000 members in Milan alone. In Italy, most time-sharing rental members take out a car for only 10 to 13 minutes, as a short-term connection tool in the city.

Bai said the cost was cheaper than the traditional vehicles, with a fee of only 20 euro cents (20 US cents) per minute.

"The Milan government has offered 270 charging posts, especially for ZD for free, and our cars can be parked in any areas in the city," said Bai, adding that his company now had 1,000 units in total used for the rental business in Italy.

"We plan to expand to France, Spain and Slovenia. The EV rental business is developing very fast in Europe," said Bai.

The firm participated for the second time recently in the Automechanika Frankfurt, the world's leading trade fair for the automotive service industry. It was held in Frankfurt from Sept. 13 to 17 and Bai said his firm struck more deals at the event.

With Chinese outbound tourism booming, mainland tourists like taking to the roads by renting cars in foreign countries. Eyeing the huge opportunities, ZD said it has cooperated with travel agencies to launch a package service.

The company said there are both opportunities and challenges for it in Europe. "Traditional fuel vehicles still hold a dominant position in Germany－the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz－and the development of EVs is relatively slow," said Bai.

"Moreover, the cruising range of EVs and the need for charging facilities poses a challenge."

He added, however, that because of the push to tackle pollution and reduce carbon emissions, European governments were encouraging EVs.

Analysts said the roll out of charging infrastructure was a key factor in the development of car time-sharing with electric vehicles.

"The location and number of charging posts is a major consideration for consumers," said Zhang Junyi, a partner with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Greater China.

Zhang added that the rollout of charging infrastructure was a springboard for EV companies to promote their products, suggesting EV firms should work together with various governments to boost the construction of charging posts.