Available to rent by the hour or by the day, the vehicles can be booked at the pickup point or pre-arranged online. As an electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF is eligible for free access to the city’s central congestion zone and use of specially marked parking spaces.

Discount rental prices will also be offered to IKEA customers, allowing them to use the vehicles to shop at one of the furniture company’s three stores in the Milan area and recharge for free.

Hertz offers a fleet of electric and plug-in hybrid rental and car-sharing vehicles covering three continents, including London and Oxford in the UK, Rome, Washington D.C., New York and San Francisco the United States and another in Shanghai, China. Further locations are already being considered by the corporation.

Michel Taride, president of Hertz International, said: ‘Hertz offers electric vehicles in more cities than any other rental company and we are committed to offering eco-friendly mobility solutions for business or holiday journeys. We believe that renting cars such as the Nissan LEAF to city dwellers and visitors can help increase the use of this new technology.’