Car club Zipcar has partnered with Westminster City Council and Volkswagen to provide a new fleet of 50 Golf GTE plug-in hybrid cars in London for its members.

Forty of these cars will be located in the City of Westminster with 10 additional cars elsewhere in London, such as Tower Bridge and Old Oak.

To make this possible, Westminster City Council has installed new charging infrastructure in 40 of their car club parking bays.

Westminster City Council residents recently named air pollution as their biggest concern.

Westminster is also bidding for funds to create a Low Emission Neighbourhood in Marylebone and recently introduced an ‘air force’ of parking marshals to educate people about the impact of engine idling.

Mark Walker, Zipcar UK General Manager, said, “At Zipcar, we are all about simple and responsible urban living.

"The Volkswagen Golf GTE fully supports that ethos and is ideal for our members.

"The combination of pure-electric vehicle driving in the city and full flexibility to escape anywhere in the country, without compromise, is compelling.  

"We believe our members will thoroughly enjoy driving this car in electric mode and will become keen advocates for electric vehicle driving in London."

Heather Acton, Westminster City Council cabinet member for parking and sustainability, said: “Electric vehicles are key to helping address pollution. Giving more people the chance to drive an electric car in London, and on a shared basis, is a big step towards creating a greener city.

“We are delighted that residents and visitors to Westminster will have the opportunity to try out these vehicles.

“Car sharing makes so much sense in central London, where a private car is not often needed.”

The Car Club Strategy for London announced last May by London Councils, GLA and TfL targeted 50% of car-share fleets to be electric vehicles by 2025.