Dubbed Matcha, the scheme is simultaneously being placed in Paris and London, where a total of 29 cars have initially been made available in the borough of Wandsworth.

The cars can be picked up from on-street locations in Tooting, Battersea, Roehampton, Putney, Southfields, Earlsfield and Wandsworth Common, and there are plans to increase the local fleet over the course of the year.

Subscribers can hire the vehicles by the hour and bookings can be made via an easy-to-use mobile phone app. All bookings include the first 50 miles and fuel for free.

Drivers can register either on the Ubeeqo website or by downloading the app which is free of charge and with no usage commitment.

Benoit Chatelier, founder and CEO of Ubeeqo which was acquired last year by Europcar, said: “Ubeeqo makes urban mobility easier, more convenient, and more cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly too.”

Wandsworth Council’s transport spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook added: “We’re delighted Ubeeqo has decide to invest in Wandsworth and is bringing its network of pay-as-you-go vehicles to our borough. We want every home to have easy access to a car club so there is less need for car ownership and fewer vehicles on our streets.”