SEAT’s car-sharing service is being rolled out in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). It will be the second city in Spain where Respiro will operate after Madrid, which now has 15,000 users.

With the goal of reducing emissions and improving the city’s air quality, the 16 vehicles in the fleet will run on compressed natural gas and may soon be joined the new Mii electric.

SEAT’s newly appointed Head of Urban Mobility, Lucas Casasnovas, said: “This launch in L’Hospitalet, one of the front-runner cities on mobility issues, is a further step in our commitment to improving mobility in cities. We want to make eco-friendly solutions available to the public by hours or days, depending on their travel needs both inside and outside the city.”

SEAT purchased Respiro and entered the car-sharing sector for the first time in 2018. Launched nine years ago, Respiro is one of Spain’s car sharing platforms and has 15,000 users in Madrid. SEAT also recently announced its move into corporate carsharing to cover the needs of businesses and provide them with cars by the minute, hour and day in the city centre, at the dealership and place of work as well.

L’Hospitalet de Llobregat Mayor and President of the Spanish network of Smart Cities, Núria Marín, said: “The implementation of Respiro in L’Hospitalet will enable us to counter the effects of climate change and air pollution, as promoting carsharing is precisely one of the measures included in L’Hospitalet’s sustainable urban mobility plan. We continue to work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN by the target date of 2030.”