Fleets are showing growing interest in using rented all-electric vehicles, thus allowing them to trial the vehicles without facing the risk of unknown residuals.

The Green Motion car and van rental company will offer the Citroen C1 ev’ie - the UK’s first four-seater all-electric production car – within months.

It will price it some 20% more than a petrol or diesel equivalent.

It has already received interest from fleets including Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Zenith, BAA, Transport for London and several local councils.

But, the rental company is still in negotiations with the Electric Car Corporation, which converts the car into an all-electric model and Citoren, which provides the donor car, to set a residual value on the £16,850 C1 ev’ie.

It will take up to 50 of the cars on a three-year contract hire deal, leaving Citroen to manage the resale process.

“We are working on taking the vehicles under some form of contract hire, therefore the ultimate ownership of the vehicle would lie with Citroen UK/Citroen Contract Motoring with them taking responsibility for the onward disposal of the vehicle,” explained Richard Lowden, managing director of Green Motion.

Resale is a particular issue as the car’s battery life is still unknown in real-world use.

“It is our understanding that the battery should last between five and seven years with the current total replacement cost in the region of £2,000 to £2,300,” said Lowden.

He said the replacement costs should fall to £1,000 and £1,200 within five years. “We are also investigating the option of a third-party warranty to cover the batteries.”

Jeff Knight, forecast manager for CAP Monitor said other issues also make it difficult to predict residuals on electric vehicles.

“These include the conservative nature of used car buyers and their reluctance to act as 'guinea pigs' for new technology before it is fully embedded,” he said.

“However, this issue is largely overcome by Toyota and its offer of a full replacement cost warranty for life, so the problem is not insurmountable.”

Knight added that vehicle range and its effect on the usage of a car and re-charge times and opportunities were also key.

“For example, we have tested a car which has proved impractical with our existing opportunities to re-charge the vehicle. This has made journeys between home and work a real logistical challenge,” said Knight.