French firm Bollore Group won an electric car-sharing project in Singapore, its first in Asia, with a fleet of 1,000 vehicles expected to operate in the densely-populated city-state by 2020, government authorities said on Thursday.

 

Bollore's proposal was chosen from among 13 proposals after more than a year of evaluation by government agencies under the joint leadership of Singapore's Land Transport Authority and the Economic Development Board, the city-state's transport minister, Khaw Boon Wan, said at the signing ceremony for the deal.

 

The first 125 electric cars are expected on the road in the middle of next year. Under the project, BlueSG, a subsidiary of Bollore, will install 2,000 charging points throughout the island by the end of the decade.

 

Bollore has electric vehicle-sharing operations in Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon in France, Indianapolis in the United States and Turin in Italy.

 

The group's plans to launch a new electric car-sharing scheme in London were delayed due to unfinalized contract talks with the capital's local councils.

 

Facing tougher environmental regulation and growing demand for less polluting cars, automakers are investing heavily in electric vehicles, but many consumers have been deterred by the limited distance they can travel on a single charge. (Reuters)