A new electric car-sharing service will go into operation in the French city of Grenoble in October for a three-year trial period. Ha:Mo, a cooperative effort of Toyota, utility EDF, and local car-sharing operator Citélib, will feature 70 Toyota i-ROAD and COMS ultra-compact EVs and about 30 charging stations.

The idea is to allow commuters to drive electrically for the first or last kilometers of their journeys. Customers can use a smartphone app to reserve and pay for one of the available vehicles, which will be located at tram stops.

Toyota is providing its new COMS (a 4-wheel single-seater) and i-ROAD (a 3-wheel two-seater, with “Active Lean technology” that’s supposed to handle something like a motorcycle or a scooter).

Toyota is also developing a data management system that will integrate with Grenoble’s existing transport IT system to offer route planning with different modes of transport from a smartphone. Toyota already has a similar Ha:mo (for Harmonious Mobility) project in Japan.

“This concept fits within our overall future mobility vision which is based on four pillars: safety, comfort, ease of use and ecology,” said Michel Gardel, VP of Toyota Europe. “Ha:mo was designed to reduce the stress caused by traffic jams, peak traffic hours, and searching for a parking space.”

“Citélib by Ha:mo will fill an important gap for short-distance travel and allow our customers to pick up and drop off their vehicles at different locations,” said Martin Lesage, General Director of Citélib.

Source: Toyota via Green Car Congress