Carsharing firm car2go says it is bringing ‘the future of urban mobility’ to London by launching in Islington, Sutton and Newham.

Backed by Daimler and Europcar, car2go’s fleet of Smart vehicles will be available from 4 December.

Customers can register free of charge until the end of 2012, either on the car2go website, at the company’s pop-up store in Shoreditch, or at Europcar centres across the capital.

Once registered, they can locate cars using an app. Alternatively, if they spot an available car2go car they can touch the card-reader on the windscreen, get in and drive off.

The cost for a Smart is ‘35 pence per minute – all-in, no hidden extras’.

Stefan Mueller, CEO of car2go Europe gmbh, commented: “A lot of Londoners don’t need or want a car all the time, but enjoy the freedom that driving brings – car2go gives the best of both worlds.”

London is the 17th city served by car2go and the company has more than 6,000 vehicles worldwide.