Launched last September, the Thriev scheme has now been extended to London to offer low-cost, zero-emission, private hire vehicles to corporate and private users.

The fleet of 20 BYD e6 cars have been supplied on a lease arrangement and liveried with the Thriev logo. The cars, which have a range of up to 186 miles, are being charged using a brand-new city-wide charging network installed by British Gas. Under the deal with BYD, Thriev has also installed rapid chargers, capable of charging the cars to 80% in 30 minutes, at its Edgware Road facility. The plan is to expand the service across the UK and eventually match every unit of charge with a unit of 100% British renewable electricity.

The service is also being backed up by Thriev’s booking app. The app, available for Apple and Android devices, allows customers to book a car in three clicks. GPS allows the vehicle to be tracked in real-time on a map and the app also retains a history of previous reservations in the last 30 days for expense management and allows users to quickly rebook a repeat trip.

Arvind Vij, CEO and a co-founder of Thriev, said: ‘We are delighted to see the new BYD e6 private hire vehicles, which feature our unique branding, go into service in London. Thriev offers its customers a true revolution in transport, using modern technology to offer private hire services in a cost-effective way.’

Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe, said: ‘It is great to see our e6 on the roads of London in private hire service only a matter of weeks after we became the first manufacturer to have fully-electric buses in operation in the Capital, too. We are delighted to be working with Thriev, which shares our vision to provide safe, reliable and efficient green transport in cities.’