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Car hire is big business in Beijing

Car hire is currently one the fastest growing industries in China’s capital city of Beijing due to the recent restrictions put in place to limit car ownership to reduce traffic congestion in the city.

Over the course of the last 5 years the number of cars on Beijing roads has almost doubled, resulting in nightmare driving conditions with gridlocked roads, and also increased pollution levels within Beijing.

In an attempt to curb car ownership, Beijing has issued a month long ban on purchasing cars, after which a car plate lottery scheme will be put in place. Just 20,000 people picked at random from the lottery will be permitted by purchase a car in the city. A ban on car number plates from outside Beijing has been put in place during peak times to help further reduce congestion on city roads.

However the upshot of these stringent car ownership rules is that car hire in the capital is booming. Beijing residents are flocking to car rental dealers due the convenience car hire services offer.

Selected car hire providers have reported that over 90% of their fleet is regularly out on rentals at any given time. Due to the surge in demand for car hire, some operators are planning to double their fleet.

The good news for car hire customers is that the competition between providers in hotting up, which means that operators are continually coming up with great offers of up to 50% off rental rates in order to outdo their competitors and secure more customers.

Hertz and Beverly Hills Rent a Car join forces to offer luxury car hire

Top name car rental company and leading California based luxury car hire operator Beverly Hills Rent a Car have joined forces in order to fulfil the growing demands for luxurious car hire in the state.

Beverly Hills Rent a Car has a vast array of top quality cars available for hire from world renowned brands such as Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Porsche and Mercedes which will allow Hertz to offer a different calibre of vehicle to their car rental customers.

Hertz is a world leader in the provision of car rentals for general use and airport car hire services, however the partnership with Beverly Hills Rent a Car will allow Hertz the opportunity to branch into a whole new market of luxurious travel.

Launching the new luxury car hire service in California is a shrewd move as there is a definite demand for the service in this area from film studios and celebrities either visiting or living in the state.

The joint venture will offer a range of services including complementary pick-up and drop-off to and from several Hertz car rental bases in California, plus VIP collection from airports, and the choice of a wide range of luxury and classic cars.

Hertz say the decision to partner Beverly Hills Rent a Car in this new venture was based on the growing interest in luxury travel in California.

Ferrari sales booming in China

Ferrari has reported a strong year of sales in China, selling almost 300 luxury sports cars in the country over the course of the last year.

The luxury car maker estimates that 2010 sales in China are 50% higher than the previous year. The healthy sales figures from China puts the country into the top 5 international markets for Ferrari when the revenue from Hong Kong and Taiwan are combined.

To celebrate the success of the past year, Ferrari are holding a special event on January 14^th in Shanghai where the 999^th Ferrari customer will be commemorated as 9 is regarded as a very lucky number in Chinese culture.

Since launching their first ever dealership in China 6 years ago, Ferrari has been concentrating their efforts on developing their brand in Asia. Last year the car maker chose to hold their first ever debut of a new model, the 599 GTO, in the China at the Beijing Auto Show and are currently planning to introduce the Ferrari Challenge Racing Series to Asia within the coming year which will help further boost the Italian car maker’s profile.

As well as developing the racing challenge in the New Year, Ferrari is also planning to launch a number of new dealerships to help support sales growth in 2011.

Paris to launch self service electric car hire

Paris is set to launch a self service electric car hire scheme which is scheduled to be up and running by the end of 2011.

Known as AutoLib, the system will be based on a similar scheme the city introduced three years ago which offers bicycle sharing facilities across the city. The two schemes will hopefully help to improve the air quality in the city by reducing CO2 emissions and pollution levels.

The cars have been designed by the Italian car makers, Pininfarnia, with technology created by a French company, Group Bollore.

The electric car sharing scheme plans to introduce 3,000 battery powered 4-seater cars to the city, situated at 1,200 different points throughout Paris.

The system will be trialled during August and September 2011, with the official launch of the service scheduled for October. If the system goes ahead as planned, it will put Paris on the map as no other city has an electric car sharing scheme on this scale.

To be eligible to hire an electric car as part of the new AutoLib service in Paris you will need to hold a full valid driver’s licence, and also subscribe to the scheme. Annual subscriptions start from €12 per month, although daily and weekly subscriptions are also available. A deposit of €250 is also required.

Cheaper car hire rates predicted for the New Year

There’s good news on the horizon for car hire customers as experts are predicting cheaper rates in the New Year as the industry recovers from the effects of the economic downturn which has been hampering services over the last two years.

As car rental firms struggled to get financial backing from the banks to purchase new vehicles for their fleet, the number of hire cars available was heavily reduced, which pushed up the cost of rentals as there was still the same amount of demand, but not enough cars to go around.

The cost of car hire in certain holiday hot spots rocketed by as much as 500% as a result which hit holidaymakers hard.

However as the car rental industry starts to emerge from the gloom of the recession, the after effects are also paling in significance. Many operators are now able to obtain the backing of the banks, which means they are in a position to add to their fleet of rental cars.

This spells good news for car hire customers as there will be an increase in the choice of rental cars available which will in turn, help keep rates competitive between car hire providers.

The advice being given by car rental experts to those planning to book car hire is to do so as far in advance as possible in order to take advantage of early booking incentives being offered.

Hybrid Lexus goes on display at Harrods

Billed as the first ever hybrid luxury hatchback, the Lexus CT 200H has gone on display in the window of the world’s most luxurious department store this week.

The green luxury car boasts a hybrid engine which offers the option of powering the car by either electric or petrol. The Lexus CT 200H is aiming to offer a green choice of vehicle for the luxury car market. What better place is there to showcase the first ever hybrid Lexus than in London’s most prestigious store?!

The Lexus is on display in the window usually used to showcase super cars such as Ferrari vehicles and Aston Martins. In fact, the last vehicle to go on display in the Harrods shop window was the Aston Martin Cygnet, as reported by Cars for Stars News last month.

Thanks to its super green credentials, the hybrid Lexus is the only luxury automatic to be exempt from the London congestion charge. As well as offering reduced emissions which makes it ideal for city driving, the Lexus CT 200H offers the same level of performance and comfort as you’d expect from a vehicle from the top name car maker.

The hybrid is part of a four window Lexus display in Harrods which will run from this week, until January 15^th2011. The window display has been designed so as to allow customers the opportunity to get up and close to the luxury vehicles so they can get a real feel for the car, so what are you waiting for?! Head down to Harrods now for a chance to check out the new Hybrid Lexus CT 200H in the flesh.

Beyonce treats hubby Jay-Z to a $1.3 million sports car

Singing superstar Beyonce treated her husband of two-years, Jay-Z, to a Bugatti Veyron sports car for his birthday which was estimated to have set the singer back $1.3 million.

The rap star and music producer turned 41 at the beginning of the month and was presented with his impressive present by his wife who’d placed an order for the supercar a year ago to ensure it was ready in time for Jay-Z’s birthday.

The Bugatti Veyron broke the Guinness World land speed record to be named the fastest road car in the world, so it’s no wonder this sports car as a year long waiting list. In July the latest Bugatti Veyron achieved 267.81mph creating a new world record for a production car.

The Bugatti boasts 1.200bhp and can achieve 0-60 in just 2.5 seconds, and 0-189mph in just over 14 seconds. It’s not surprising it was named motoring show Top Gear’s Car of the Decade (2000-2009).

Jay-Z is in good company with his new ride as other celebrity names rumoured to own a Bugatti Veyron include Tom Cruise and Simon Cowell.

Despite the $1.3 million price tag, the purchase would have hardly put a dent in the couple’s bank balance as the US magazine Forbes estimated the couple had made $89 million over the last year.

Cardiff car hire scheme to expand within the next year

A newly launched car hire scheme in Cardiff has ambitious plans to expand its fleet from 10 to 50 cars within the next 12 months.

The City Car Club, which was launched for the first time at the beginning of the month, is designed to help ease congestion within the city which will in turn help to reduce carbon emissions in Cardiff.

The scheme is supported by the Welsh Assembly Government which contributed £120,000 to help fund the new public car hire system. Earlier this year, Cardiff Council also introduced a new bike hire facility which has made 45 bicycles available for hire at different spots around the city. Both schemes are part of the wider initiative, the £30 million sustainable Travel City Project which aims to help lower congestion in cities and also reduce CO2 emissions.

Cardiff Council are reportedly in the process of earmarking different sites around the city which will become new bases for the City Car Club as additional vehicles are introduced throughout the year.

The City Car Club currently comprises of two hybrid vehicles, the Toyota Prius cars which can be powered by petrol and electric, plus eight low emissions Ford Fiesta cars. Within the first 5 days of launching the public car hire scheme, the cars were used twice each covering a collective total of 224 miles.

Elvis Presley’s Mercedes Benz fails to make its asking price at auction

It seems no even Elvis Presley is recession proof after a Mercedes Benz limo formerly owned by The King was sold at auction for half of its estimated selling price.

We reported last month that the Mercedes Benz 600 Saloon car, which is reported to be one of just a handful of cars to have been registered in the Blue Suede Shoes singer’s name, was expected to make between £150,000 and £200,000 when it went under the hammer at Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey at the beginning of the month.

However when the Mercedes Saloon went up for auction last Monday, it sold for £80,700, less than half of the expected top end of the estimated price for the car with the famous connection.

However the auction house which was responsible for selling the vintage ride, Bonhams, defended the seemingly low auction price, saying that the £80,700 which it achieved was fair considering that the car is realistically worth £40,000 when you take out the Elvis Presley link. Bonhams suggested that the estimated selling price of £150,000-£200,000 was unrealistic.

The Mercedes 600 was one of two owned the legendary singer. He gifted the vehicle to his friend two years after buying it. The luxury classic car then made its way over to the UK after it was bought by an unknown car enthusiast from a car dealership in Memphis in 2005.

Charles and Camilla’s Rolls Royce limo attacked by student protesters

Royal couple Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall became the most high profile faces to get caught up the student protest over tuition fee increases when their chauffeur driven Rolls Royce limo was attacked in Central London yesterday.

Charles and Camilla were making the short journey from St James Palace to the London Palladium for this year’s Royal Variety Performance when they came under attack from protesters on Regent Street.

Once the protesters spotted the Royal couple travelling onboard the Rolls Royce surrounded by police security they set about targeting the vehicle, throwing bins in the road to stop the car, pelting it with objects and paint, kicking the doors and at one point, smashing a window on the luxury car.

Photographers captured the terrified looks on the royal’s faces as their vehicle was pounced on by the protestors, with Camilla in particular, looking especially shaken.

It was estimated that some 20,000 students took to the streets bringing parts of central London to a standstill yesterday as they protested over the Government’s plans to increase University tuition fees. In some cases fees could be tripled at a cost of £9,000 per year for each student.

Following the Royal’s official engagement at the London Palladium, they were transported back to St James Palace in the back of a police van for their own safety.