Irish co-founded electric car rental company UFODrive is to expand operations to the United States, following rapid growth in 18 cities across Europe.

UFODrive’s new site is now open in the heart of downtown San Francisco, with a full EV fleet set to be active by the end of August, and additional expansion to other US cities planned for the autumn

The first North American UFORDrivelocation has launched in San Francisco and will be followed quickly by further new sites across Europe and the United States – all will offer all-inclusive, keyless, contactless and fully electric car rental.

The business is also opening a global Tech Hub and Innovation Centre in Dublin later this month. The Hub will serve as focal point for further development of its electric rental platform.

Aidan McClean, CEO and co-founder of UFODrive, said: “In only a few years we’ve helped customers drive 15 million fully electric miles. Behind the scenes we try to solve every anxiety and make the enhanced electric driving experience a reality for our customers. Our customers love the UFODrive experience, and that success has allowed us to accelerate plans to reach North America and open the Tech Hub and Innovation Centre in Ireland.  Those are big steps towards helping accelerate the transition to sustainable rental and introduce more and more people to the joy of driving electric.”

Claimed to be the first EV native rental system, UFODrive’s platform has been built from the ground-up to manage the anxieties and advantages of EVs. Features include app-based bookings and registration, keyless entry using your phone, range management, charging optimisation, on-trip support and more.

“We’ve only just begun to expose the capabilities of EV platforms and utilise them to deliver a new level of rental experience for our customers,” continued Renaud Marquet, COO & co-founder of UFODrive. “There is so much more we can do to wow customers and drive operating efficiency. Being live in the US and now have a Hub to develop these features means we can stay well ahead everyone.”

Earlier this year, Hertz and private equity firm Certares co-led a $19m (£14m) investment in UFODrive to enhance its global EV fleet operation.

Its expansion into North America is being driven in partnership with Inspiration Fleet, said to be the first EV-only fleet management company (eFMC).

“Our strategic acquisition and financing partnership will allow UFODrive to scale nationwide at pace,” said Josh Green, founder and CEO of Inspiration Mobility. “Together, we will supercharge the transition to sustainable mobility in the rental market and beyond.”