Available to both existing and prospective customers, the AlphaCity taster pack, which comprises BMW 1 Series, 3 Series and MINI Countryman models, provides fleets with the opportunity to experience the benefits of car sharing before adopting it on a wider scale. Further models will be added to the fleet in coming months such as the BMW i3, marking Alphabet’s first step forward in electric car sharing.

The demo fleet is said to be proving hugely popular with existing customers, including sustainable energy business Vital Energy, which is now setting up AlphaCity at its Blackburn Headquarters, Lancashire following a successful trial.

Vital Energi's fleet manager, Paul Carberry, said: ‘We very much liked the concept of AlphaCity on paper and the demo proved that the scheme works really well for us in practice. Our employees like the simplicity and convenience of using the online booking process as well as the chance to be among the first to use a new technology.

‘Our directors were primarily interested in the business case for car sharing of course, but the opportunity to see AlphaCity in action before they made a commitment to it made it easier for them to take the decision.’

Businesses who adopt the AlphaCity taster pack, also gain access to the online vehicle booking site along with the use of 10 membership cards to access five vehicles for up to a month.

Kit Wisdom, head of corporate mobility at Alphabet, said: ‘Our AlphaCity taster pack enables employers to gain driver feedback and endorsement, which is vital to ensure our car sharing solution, is effectively introduced.

‘In practice, we’ve found that drivers have taken to AlphaCity better than many employers have anticipated; adopting the online booking system, with its clear view of availability and the car sharing ethos within minutes. Once people get behind the wheel of a new AlphaCity car, they simply don’t want to go back to the laborious chore of a pool car.’