Parisians have been given the opportunity of test driving the new electric 'Autolib' cars as the French capital prepared to go live with what aims to be one of the world's largest electric car-sharing schemes.
Autolib' - named after Paris' four-year-old Velib' bike-sharing system - began its testing phase of the "Bluecars" on Sunday.
For two months Parisians will be able to try out the 'zero emissions and zero noise' electric cars with a range of 250km per full battery.
Vehicle sharing projects in Europe have risen in popularity in recent years with the likes of London's Barclay's cycle hire scheme receiving high praise for innovation and practicality.
Autolib' are hoping that drivers in Paris will feel similarly about their environmentally conscious vehicles.
Parisian radio show host, David Didier was positive about his test drive and praised the project for its convenience.
"The advantage is that the you have a car to share, knowing that there is always an available one, it is electric so it does not pollute and it has the same performances as a normal one. It is really pleasant to drive, there is space for four people. Not much hesitations to have, in my opinion."
The official start of the car sharing service is scheduled for 5 December, 2011 and it is expected to be one of the world's largest electric car-sharing programmes.
At first, only 66 of the four-seaters developed by the French Groupe Bollore and the Italian design firm Pininfarina will be available for hire at 33 charging stations.
Organisers hope to expand this to three-thousand cars at one-thousand parking stations around Paris and neighbouring towns by the end of next year.
Tourists can use the service as long as they have a driver's licence recognised in France.
APTN