Italian auto firm Pininfarina said last week that it will rent out its plant to produce up to 4,000 electric cars destined for a low-cost car rental scheme in Paris under a deal signed with Cecomp and Bollore.
The total value of the rent is 14 million euros (US$19 million) and the deal runs out at the end of 2013, Pininfarina said.
Paris's Autolib scheme is due to start in October.
Pininfarina, famous for designing Ferraris and Cadillacs, said the contract was signed on Wednesday and was "a preliminary binding agreement."
The cars would be produced at the company's plant in Bairo Canavese in northern Italy and would be based on Pininfarina's Bluecar design.
The Velib scheme is already a popular bike rental system in Paris.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
