SKF today announced that is has supplied advanced technological products and solutions to the Bolloré Group for use in their innovative electric cars. These cars will be used in the car sharing program, Autolib, to be launched in Paris and the surrounding area.

"The fast growing electric vehicle market demands innovations.  SKF has a strong focus on developing new offers for this industry", says Tryggve Sthen, President, SKF Automotive Division. "Using SKF's knowledge engineering and flexible manufacturing, we were able to deliver the needed engineering solution for this fantastic project."

The SKF solution is based on bearings with ceramic balls and on advanced SKF sensor technology. It is developed to fit the electric powertrain application and to reach the high standards of efficiency and reliability in the new traction system.

The Bolloré Group will operate the new electric car sharing program, Autolib in Paris and surroundings. The program calls for 3,000 cars on the road by mid-2012 and is anticipated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 22,000 tons a year while improving traffic congestion as fewer Paris residents would need to own cars. The first 66 electric vehicles were launched on Paris roads October 2nd in a two-month field test. The first cars will be available to the public by December 1st, 2011.