UFODrive Expands EV Rental Business to the U.S.
Following international growth across Europe, UFODrive brings its car rental experience to the U.S. for the first time, launching first in San Francisco this month, with additional cities to follow in the fall.
As UFODrive plans further expansion in North America, it has partnered with Inspiration Fleet, an EV-only fleet management company, to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.
Photo: UFODrive
UFODrive announced the launch of its first U.S. city on August 4, starting with San Francisco. The electric vehicle rental has seen rapid growth in 20 cities across Europe already. Now, Bay area residents and visitors can book and drive Teslas in minutes from the UFODrive app.
The rental experience with UFODrive is keyless and contactless, and the company said it is transforming the way we rent and unlocking the potential of EVs.
“In only a few years, we’ve helped customers drive 15 million fully electric miles. Behind the scenes we try to solve every anxiety and make the enhanced electric driving experience a reality for our customers,” said Aidan McClean, CEO & co-founder of UFODrive. “We wanted to make rental less painful and pioneer the shift to electric, but our customer ratings consistently tell us it's radically better.”
UFODrive’s platform was built from the ground up. Everything from its app-based booking and registration process to keyless entry using a phone, range management, charging optimization, and on-trip support leverage the capabilities that ICE platforms can’t match, the announcement said.
“We’ve only just begun to expose the capabilities of EV platforms and match each to a new level of rental experience for our customers,” said Renaud Marquet, COO & co-founder of UFODrive. “What really surprised us was how digitization of all aspects creates an operation that is 80% more efficient than traditional rental. That means we can also be super competitive and nimble.”
UFODrive’s expertise has won multiple awards and, in March, a Series A led by Hertz and Certares. To accelerate its North American expansion, UFODrive also announced partnering with Inspiration Fleet, an EV-only fleet management company (eFMC).
"Our strategic acquisition and financing partnership will allow UFODrive to scale nationwide at pace,” said Josh Green, founder and CEO of Inspiration Mobility. “Together, we will supercharge the transition to sustainable mobility in the rental market and beyond.”
UFODrive San Francisco is now live downtown. A full fleet will be active by the end of August, with additional expansion to other cities planned for the fall.
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