Rent an Eco-friendly Electric Car

Wondering what the buzz is about when it comes to electric cars? Now you can find out without making a commitment to buy one. Car rental companies like Hertz and Enterprise are going green and adding plug-in electric cars to their fleets to meet the needs of consumers.

Electric cars are the talk of the auto industry. President Obama made a commitment to support the green technology in his 2011 State of the Union address. Chevrolet featured its plug-in Chevy Volt in high-profile commercials during the Super Bowl, and Motor Trend magazine named the Volt its 2011 Car of the Year.

But the availability of the electric cars is still limited. In February, GM recently revealed that it had delivered fewer than 650 of the cars to consumers across the country.Around the same time, Nissan told the Financial Times it had only delivered about 100 of its new eco-friendly Nissan Leaf electric cars to consumers.

Car rental companies, however, are moving to make plug-in electric cars available in more and more locations. In fact, a report from PikeResearch predicts that the majority of people who drive an electric car over the next few years will rent them rather than buy them.

Hertz

The country's biggest car rental company expects to put between 500 and 1,000 plug-in electric cars on the road in 2011. The test began at the start of the year in New York City, where its "Connect by Hertz" program began offering Nissan Leafs for rent on an hourly basis.Shortly thereafter, Hertz expanded its efforts at going green to include the San Francisco and Washington, DC markets, and began renting Chevy Volts as well.

But Hertz is looking beyond the major auto manufacturers for eco-friendly options as well. The "Connect" short-term rental options now include the Smart fortwo electric cars in New York, San Francisco and Washington.

"Hertz's partnership with Smart USA is another strategic element of our long term plan to provide consumers with electric vehicle access on a global scale," says Mark P. Frissora, Hertz Chairman and CEO. "With its worldwide recognition, Smart was a logical choice for our program and we're excited to begin offering the smart electric drive to our customers."

Enterprise

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is going green as well, making Nissan Leafs available for rent in eight cities around the country, including Phoenix, Tucson, Knoxville, Nashville, San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, OR and Seattle.

"As a company that owns and operates the world's largest fleet of passenger vehicles, we have a vested interest and a history of working with manufacturers to integrate alternative-powered vehicles into our fleet," says Lee Broughton, director of sustainability for Enterprise. "Enterprise Rent-A-Car offices are uniquely positioned to test the market viability of new alternative fuel technologies like the electric vehicle with daily commuters nationwide."

In January, Enterprise announced that it would start offering the Chevy Volt as well, beginning in Southern California.

"Purchase demand for electric vehicles has been impressive, and we anticipate similar demand from rental customers," says Jeff Morrell, vice president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "Making the Volt available will provide an extended test drive for curious customers, for those with cars being serviced and for those interested in possibly purchasing an electric car."

Zipcar

Zipcar pioneered the short-term car rental business, making vehicles available by the hour rather than by the day. Now, it is exploring the market for eco-friendly electric car rentals by offering a new plug-in version of the Toyota Prius electric car for rent by the hour.

Initially, Zipcar will test short-term rentals of the electric Prius in Boston, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. The plug-in Prius is not due on the market until 2012, but Toyota has made eight of the cars available to Zipcar for the test.

"Zipcar is an ideal test bed for early consumer acceptance of electric cars," says CEO Scott Griffith. "This project will allow companies to receive direct feedback from thousands of consumers in three cities and help evaluate how electric vehicles fit into a large-scale car sharing model."