The agreement, signed today (September 14) at the Frankfurt Motor Show, will see GE Capital lease EV vehicles across Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

In addition the two firms will develop a Customer Experience Centre, where fleets will be able to test-drive the EVs and further explore the technology.

The deal follows GE’s announcement in November 2010 that it will purchase 25,000 electric vehicles globally by the year 2015. In July this year, the firm signed up to supply Citroen C-Zero EVs to 3M. The PSA Peugeot Citroen move furthers GE Capital’s public commitment, made in November 2010, to purchase 25,000 electric vehicles globally by the year 2015.

Commenting on the deal, Isabel Fernandez, CCO at GE Capital EMEA, said: ‘This is a landmark agreement and we are affirming our commitment to the future of electric vehicles and building on our strong relationship with European car manufacturers.

‘Among fleet managers, we have seen a growing demand for our assistance in reducing their total cost of ownership and in meeting environmental commitments. As fuel prices represent an ever-increasing portion of the total cost of ownership, EVs will surely help our customers to reduce this burden.’