Both Renault and Mr. Bollore's family business said Thursday that they are considering creating a joint venture to win new contracts for car-sharing projects like the one Mr. Bollore has spearheaded in Paris. Known as Autolib', that project has already put a fleet of silver electric cars and pod-like charging stations on Paris streets.
As part of the deal, Renault could take a stake in two of Mr. Bollore's first extensions of the idea in the French cities of Lyon and Bordeaux, the two companies said in a joint statement.
The potential collaboration could also extend to Renault's taking over production of some of Mr. Bollore's electric cars -- known as Bluecars -- and the possible development of a new three-seat vehicle that would be just over 10 feet long with a range of over 120 miles, the companies added.
Renault's potential collaboration with Mr. Bollore comes as both electric vehicles and car-sharing have become hot topics in the automobile and tech businesses. On one hand, companies like BMW AG are jumping into the electric business following the buzz around companies like Tesla Motors Inc. Meanwhile, car-sharing through apps like taxi-hailing service Uber and ride-sharing service BlaBlaCar are seeing rising popularity.
In France, electric car sales have been doubling every year since 2011, but the volumes remain small. By the end of June, roughly 5,200 electric cars and another 2,500 electric utility vans were registered in the country, according to Alix Partners.
Both Renault and Bollore have been trying to lead the charge on electric cars. Renault's newly launched Zoe sedan has risen to become the country's top-selling electric, but France still had registered only 3,600 of them in the first six months of 2013, Alix Partners says.
Mr. Bollore, for his part, has also expanded into the U.S., with a deal to launch an electric car-sharing service in the city of Indianapolis. His company has been involved in making high-capacity batteries for years, and is expanding his production of car batteries with a factory in his home region of Brittany. On Friday, the company has scheduled a press conference to discuss its expansion.
Mr. Bollore's electric car businesses are part of a sprawling series of interests that includes a logistics business in Africa and a stake in media conglomerate Vivendi where he was just named vice-chairman.
