Montreal, January 16, 2012 [Québec City, January 17, 2012] – Today, Communauto announced the opening of its self-serve electric vehicle fleet to all, and at the same time, revealed that the company AddÉnergie has become the official supplier of its charging docks. The announcement was made as part of the Montreal/Québec City premiere of the film The Revenge of the Electric Car.
“As of today, all Quebecers, starting with our 25 000 current subscribers, will be able to use an electric vehicle at a low-cost. After five months of experimentation backed by the strong enthusiasm shown by our 200 beta-testers, we are now ready to open to everyone the largest fleet of self-serve electric vehicles in Canada, one of the first in North America” said Benoit Robert, President and CEO of Communauto.
The Quebecois carsharing company’s electric vehicle fleet will, over the first months of 2012, reach fifty cars. Twenty-five of the vehicles are already available, of which eighteen are in Montreal and seven in Québec City.
Since its inception, Hydro-Québec has supported Communauto’s project. The expertise of the state corporation was particularly precious in the selection and acquisition of the charging infrastructure.
“We are proud to be a partner of Communauto and to support them in the deployment of this important project, “said Pierre-Luc Desgagné, Senior Director – Strategic Planning at Hydro-Québec. “We are also very pleased to work with the Québec firm AddÉnergie in the context of this project. The experience gained by this young company from the Québec City area is mutually useful.”
The experimental phase these last months has allowed for an extensive testing of various types of charging docks that could power its network. Each Communauto electric vehicle is powered by a charging dock located in the parking space assigned to this car. Following this assessment, it is AddÉnergie, first Québec company to have had developed a charging dock, that was chosen by Communauto as the official supplier of its power devices.
The president of AddÉnergie, Louis Tremblay, added: “Communauto’s self-serve carsharing service is a perfect application for electric vehicles; the cars are frequently used and come back to the same place to be plugged in. We are delighted that Communauto has selected us as the unique supplier of their next deployment of charging docks. We applaud their leadership, as well as Hydro-Québec’s, and their desire to use Québec engineering. AddÉnergie is committed to providing an unconditional support to Communauto, as to encourage electric vehicle carsharing and ultimately to meet the needs of all Quebecers.”
About Communauto
Communauto, the oldest carsharing service in North America, is a company with an urban, social and environmental mission that serves more than 25,000 users thanks to a fleet of some 1,150 self-service cars, available 24/7, in combination with public transit and active transportation. Communauto vehicles are found in more than 370 stations, located in Montréal, the city of Québec, Gatineau and Sherbrooke. For more information about Communauto and its network of parking stations, visit: www.communauto.com.
About Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec generates, transmits and distributes electricity. Its sole shareholder is the Québec government. It uses mainly renewable generating options, in particular hydropower, and supports the development of wind energy through purchases from independent power producers. It also conducts research in energy-related fields, such as energy efficiency. For more information on Hydro-Québec, please visit www.hydroquebec.com. For details on its plans for transportation electrification, visit www.hydroquebec.com/transportation-electrification.
About AddÉnergie
AddÉnergie, a Québec company, is the only manufacturer of charging stations in Canada. The company designs, develops and markets charging stations for the commercial and industrial sector. AddÉnergie products are optimized to operate in all implementation contexts, whether in extreme weather conditions when they are located outside or in public places where their strength, durability and controlled access are crucial. AddÉnergie charging stations can be configured in a standalone mode or in network. The owners of a fleet of charging docks can manage them from a distance (via the Internet) to ensure the availability of the charging service. AddÉnergie’s mission is to make life easier for drivers of electric vehicles and owners of charging stations.
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For more information
Communauto inc.
Marco Viviani
Director, development and public relations
Phone: 1-866-498-8099 ext. 2119
mviviani@communauto.ca
www.communauto.com