South Korea’s leading car-sharing service operator GreenCar has added 100 environmentally-friendly vehicles to its fleet in hopes of contributing to the improvement of the country’s air quality.

An unnamed official from GreenCar said on Thursday that the company has added 60 electric cars and 40 hybrid vehicles to its fleet to expand its eco-friendly car-sharing service. GreenCar, which already offers the highest number of eco-friendly vehicles among ride-sharing services in Korea, is hoping to help improve overall air quality in the country facing worsening air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The latest addition has led GreenCar to own 670 green cars including 210 electric vehicles, 455 hybrid vehicles, and five plugged-in hybrid cars. The cars are of various models including GM Bolt EV and Hyundai Motor Ioniq Hybrid.

Its cars will be parked at green zones or parking spaces managed by the company in Seoul and nearby areas. GreenCar plans to locate 10 electric cars at its green zone near Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southern Seoul, which has charging infrastructure for 124 electric vehicles.

GreenCar expects the latest addition would further spur its car sharing service amid growing demand for electric vehicles in the country. Use rate of its green cars is already 1.5 times higher than that of vehicles with internal combustion engines, the company said. In particular, GM Bolt EV - which boasts a long driving range - is most popular among its service users with an average daily rental hour reaching 13.9, according to the company.

A GreenCar official said that the company will continue to expand the fleet of eco-friendly cars to fulfill social responsibility as an industry leader. GreenCar is Korea’s first car-sharing service operator that was acquired by KT Rental before giving away ownership to Lotte Rental under Lotte Group.

By Kim Jung-hwan and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]