The electric Bolloré Bluecar has become a common sight in Paris. This is the car that is used by the Autolib car-sharing service, and there’s more than 1,700 on Parisian streets. That number will eventually rise to 3,000 but a question many people has been asking is how to get a Bluecar outside of the Autolib car-sharing service. They found an answer at the Paris motor show, but it wasn’t what most had expected. The normal way to do things would be start selling cars, but I was told the Bolloré group has no plan to begin this in the foreseeable future, and I may add it is pretty sure they will never do it. It would be too late in the product cycle to do it in 2 years.

The Bluecar in its regular production form has been unveiled 2 years ago, and the production facility that builds it is best described as temporary. There are no clear plans to make it lasts, nor is there any plan to open showrooms and service outlets to sell the car. The Autolib’s cars are serviced in a private place, and things will not change with the cars being available outside Autolib. The cars will be rented for periods from 3 to 23 months, at a cost of 500 euros per month ($645). A very pricey offer considering it’s possible today to lease a Nissan Leaf for €299 a month. The Nissan is much better built than the Bluecar, it has more equipment, and it’s better performer on the road.

Bolloré unveiled a better looking Bluecar in Paris with a large canvas roof to make it different from the Autolib’s cars, but the high price they’re asking for it proves that they’re not looking to put many in the hands of private individuals. The Bluecar shall be known as the car that is shared among tens of thousands of Parisians, any other use will be marginal.