Toyota Motor Corp. partnered with University of California Irvine to bring its electric car sharing initiative to the U.S. for the first time, according to an announcement from UCI on March 21. 

Through Toyota’s partnership with the university’s Advanced Power & Energy Program, 30 2013 Scion iQ electric vehicles will be added to the UCI-administered Zero Emission Vehicle-Network Enabled Transport (ZEV-NET) fleet.

ZEV-NET provides battery-powered transportation for the “last mile” of commutes. Commuters to UCI and area businesses who are enrolled in ZEV-NET will be able to pick up a vehicle from the Irvine Transportation Center to rent daily.

“Mobility is evolving, and Toyota is exploring new business models for future transportation needs,” said Craig Scott, advanced technology vehicle manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. “ZEV-NET helps us understand how electric vehicles are used within an active car sharing program and the viability of this type of program for future technologies.”

Auto Rental News reported last year that Toyota would use the iQ EVs for car sharing programs in the United States, while electric car sharing from Toyota is already available in Japan and also recently launched in France.