Enterprise adds electric vehicle rentals in three West Coast cities

It's now a piece of cake for residents of Seattle, WA, Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA to drive an electric vehicle without buying one.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a pioneer in renting plug-in vehicles, says it's expanding its Nissan Leaf rentals to Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. Later this year, the 2012 Mitsubishi i will join Enterprise's plug-in fleet, which should number 500 strong by the end of 2011. Enterprise has been renting plug-in vehicles in southern California, Texas, Tennessee, Hawaii and New York. The rental agency says it's eying more markets to roll into soon.

Prices vary by location, but at $55 to $70 a day, is a fairly modest amount to pay for a day-long test drive to see if a battery-powered vehicle truly meets your needs. Lee Broughton, head of sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, says that, "This is a chance for our customers to rent the future today, whether it be for a test drive, fuel-efficient rental or just out of curiosity."

Here's a perk: Enterprise doesn't charge a fill-up fee if a plug-in vehicle is returned with a drained battery.

[Source: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
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Enterprise Rent-A-Car Offers Portland Drivers Chance to Rent Electric Vehicles
Oregon Part of Nation's Largest EV Rental Roll-out


PORTLAND, Ore. – July 13, 2011 – Nissan LEAF electric vehicle (EV) rentals are now available to Enterprise Rent-A-Car customers in downtown Portland at the 1623 W. Burnside St. rental location as part of the nation's largest EV rental roll-out. Enterprise installed a charging station at the rental location, and there is no refueling cost for returning a vehicle with less than a full charge.

"This is a chance for our customers to rent the future today, whether for a test drive, a fuel-efficient rental or just out of curiosity," said Lee Broughton, head of sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental. "Adding EVs to our fleet is a priority and we are committed to bringing them to our customers. We can do that by leveraging our large network of Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood locations to connect local drivers with electric vehicle technology."

With more than 20 car rental offices in the Portland Metro area, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is uniquely positioned to introduce drivers to EVs. In fact, Enterprise's vast network of locations includes more than 5,500 offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, more than twice as many as its nearest competitor.

Enterprise EVs are currently available in Southern California, Texas, Tennessee, Hawaii, New York, and London, and Enterprise is also launching EV rentals today in San Francisco and Seattle. Enterprise will add more EVs as they become available from manufacturers and as the infrastructure to support them expands throughout the United States. The Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood network will offer these new EVs – including all-electric Nissan LEAFs and extended-range Chevy Volts – in new markets, including North Carolina. The vehicles also will be available through the Enterprise Rent-A-Car business rental program and WeCar car-sharing program.

Enterprise Holdings is a charter member of the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities' National Clean Fleets Partnership, a public-private alliance that helps large companies reduce diesel and gasoline use in their fleets by incorporating electric vehicles, alternative fuels and fuel-saving measures into daily operations.

"With a growing network of public charging stations available to EV drivers, the Portland metro area is an excellent place to offer electric vehicle rentals," said Charlie Allcock, business development director at Portland General Electric (PGE). "Now, Portland customers have the opportunity to rent an EV and experience firsthand the economical and environmental benefits of electric transportation."

There are more than 50 public charging stations in PGE's service area, including a 30-minute quick-charge station at the World Trade Center parking garage.

Level 2 (220-Volt) charging stations have been installed at Enterprise locations offering EVs. In addition to making Nissan LEAFs available, Enterprise earlier this year became the first to offer rentals of Chevy Volt extended-range EVs to customers when it added the vehicles to its Ontario, Calif., rental location.

Visit http://www.drivingfutures.com f for additional information about Enterprise's sustainability efforts and fuel-efficient fleet. Customers can visit www.enterprise.com to learn more about the availability of EVs and hybrid rentals, or call 1-800-261-7331 to make a reservation.

About Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has been named to BusinessWeek magazine's annual list of "Customer Service Champs" in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Enterprise also has ranked "Highest in Rental Car Customer Satisfaction" among North American airport rentals for the last seven years in a row, according to the 2004-2010 J.D. Power and Associates Rental Car Satisfaction Studies.

St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings owns and operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand. With annual revenues of $12.6 billion and more than 68,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings also operates, through its regional subsidiaries, more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest car rental service provider in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. For more information about Enterprise Holdings' environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of its business, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com/sustainability and follow @LeeBroughton on Twitter. [This news release and other Enterprise announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.]

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