In collaboration with several community and governmental organisations, Australian car sharing service GoGet has added the first fully electric vehicle to its Melbourne fleet.

Australia’s first car sharing service GoGet has just recently deployed the first electrical vehicle in its Melbourne fleet.

With the support of several community and governmental agencies and organisations, among them the Department of Transport in partnership with the Moreland City Council, ChargePoint Australia, Origin and Places Victoria, GoGet was able to add a fully electrical Mitsubishi i-MiEV vehicle to its fleet. This will allow the citizens of Melbourne to test their first electrical vehicle.

“There are so many reasons we’re happy about this. The most obvious is that having an electrical vehicle in a car sharing fleet will give Melburnians a chance to actually try an EV,” said Bruce Jeffreys, co-founder and director of GoGet.

“This is really important, because for us EVs are still concepts, not real cars. Well, here’s a real electric car. We want people to unplug it and give it a spin,” he added.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV uses a lithium-ion battery and a single speed transmission 49-kW motor. When fully charged it has a range of 160 km and a top speed of 130 km/h.

The new car is parked at The Nicholson, a complex with a 6-Star energy rating, and is being recharged using a ChargePoint station. The station allow for the car’s energy usage to be monitored and to be recharged with Origin’s 100% GreenPower.

Being part of the Victorian Government’s Electrical Vehicle Trial, the Mitsubishi EV will also be contributing data to the electrical vehicle research.

“EV is an ideal fit for the urban environment because 97% of trips people made are less than 50 km,” stated Bruce Jeffries.

“Electrical vehicles are definitely important, but we see it as part of the overall move toward people recognising that there are new and better ways of using vehicles, and it can be fun,” he added.

GoGet is a professional car sharing service operated by CarShare Australia. It provides its services in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

Photo by David Villarreal Fernandez