PARIS (Reuters) -- Bollore Group said it will invest 150 million euros ($172 million) to roll out an electric-car charging network across France, after the plan won government backing.
The French conglomerate, whose Blue Solutions division already operates the Autolib EV car-sharing services in Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon, said in a statement it would install 16,000 new semi-fast chargers nationwide in the next four years.
"Wherever you are on the map there will be at least one recharging point every 40 kilometers (25 miles)," the company said.
The network will also offer Internet hotspots and car-pooling services to subscribers, who will be able to reserve time slots at recharging points.
French carmaker Renault has been an enthusiastic backer of electric cars, investing 4 billion euros with Japanese affiliate Nissan to develop several vehicles and battery technologies.
But French public investment in national charging infrastructure has so far lagged far behind official targets.
The Blue Solutions move follows a September joint-venture deal between Bollore and Renault to build electric vehicles at the carmaker's plant in Dieppe, northern France.
Last week, the Bollore group said it was seeking partners to expand its Autolib car-sharing service in Los Angeles and Singapore as the next markets after the scheme debuts later this year in London and in the U.S. states of Indianapolis.
