Chinese company Kandi Technologies has come up with a new car-sharing scheme which is essentially a car vending machine. In Hangzhou, China, all you have to do is press a couple buttons at one of Kandi’s multi-story garages and a fully-charged electric car will be dispensed for you.
The Chinese-made EVs get approximately 75 miles off of one charge and go upwards of 50 mph, all for a little over $3 an hour. When the driver has had enough, the rented electric vehicle can simply be dropped off at the Kandi station nearest to them.
Hangzhou is located about an hour outside of Shanghai and is home to 10 million people. Kandi launched last year and already has two EV vending machines in Hangzhou with plans to add 10 more vending machines this year, while also expanding to Shanghai and Beijing.
Only 10% of the 1.35 billion people in China own cars, setting up a massive market for Kandi to tap into through its rental EV vehicle business plan.
More importantly, the EVs reduce carbon emissions do not contribute to China’s smog problem. With 2,700 bike sharing stations in China and growing, Kandi should have no trouble with people buying into its business model and for only $3 an hour, provide a quicker form of transportation than bicycles.
