Enterprise Rent-a-Car to offer Chevrolet Volt
06 January 2011
Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be the first to offer Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicles (EVs) for daily and weekly rentals later this month. The Volt vehicles will be available at the Mark Christopher Auto Center in Ontario, Calif., along with a new charging station.
There are more than 5,000 Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood and airport offices, including the Mark Christopher Auto Center site, located within 15 miles of 90% of the US population. As Enterprise Rent-A-Car continues to add EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles throughout its network, more customers will have an opportunity to try the new technology for consideration of purchase, out of curiosity, or to choose an environmentally friendly car rental option. It also gives customers a chance to learn more about the charging process, Enterprise says.
Additional EVs will be offered at other Enterprise locations as manufacturers make them available. 500 Nissan LEAFs will be available at select Enterprise locations nationwide, and on-site charging stations will be installed to support the vehicles. Charging stations already have been installed at Enterprise offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Monica, Calif.
We’re committed to using our fleet and industry-leading network as a sort of ‘petri dish’ to promote new alternatives and prove their feasibility in the marketplace.
—Lee Broughton, director of sustainability for Enterprise Holdings
I hope that they are able to get more than just a few of them. Enterprise has a history of only having cars that they can get a deal on. When a certain model is in high demand, the car company is less likely to make deals.
Posted by: SJC | 06 January 2011 at 12:24 PM
Excellent idea. Potential buyers could try a Volt or other electrified vehicles for a day or more before deciding to buy.
Posted by: HarveyD | 06 January 2011 at 12:55 PM
FLEETS, FLEETS, FLEETS. The key to introducing a new vehicle type like Volt or Leaf. Tesla's cars are so advanced with limited builds it is doubtful they will show up in many fleets. But Chevy could sell 250k Volts to different corporate and government fleets including car rental agencies. This will put the vehicle in the hands of the public giving them a chance to gauge the quality.
Enterprise at least is leading the way - even if it is with only a handful of Volts (great PR and marketing for them.)
Posted by: Reel$$ | 07 January 2011 at 03:59 PM