Want to Buy a Hybrid, But Afraid to Commit?
The rising demand for hybrids is overflowing at the car rental counter. Rental agencies are increasingly adding hybrids to their fleet of automobiles. Toyota Prius hybrids seem to be the hybrid of choice.
The rentals give Toyota Motor Corp. a chance to show off their Prius and give potential buyers a opportunity to try out a hybrid and decide if it would be right for them.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc., Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Avis Budget Group Inc. all offer Toyota's Prius hybrid at selected branches.
Hertz stated that it will invest $68 million to increase its fleets by 3,400 Prius hybrids by 2008. Consumers can rent a Prius from Hertz at 50 branches of the company's U.S airport locations. The New York City offices will have a 100 hybrids available.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in favor of increasing hybrid rental cars. He stated that the hybrid vehicles lines up the city's goal of reducing its emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030.
The stop and go traffic of Manhattan traffic is especially suited for hybrids as it allow them to run mainly on their electric motors thereby reducing vehicle emissions.
Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by as estimated 3,000 tons per year when a 1,000 ordinary rental cars are replaced by a Prius hybrid according to a Hertz's spokesman.
Not to be out done, Avis said it plans to make 1,000 Prius hybrid vehicles available right away. A spokesman for Avis, John Barrows, stated that the hybrids will be offered in its California, Portland, Seattle and Washington D.C. markets. Avis will consider expansion into other locations if the consumer demand for hybrids is apparent.
Already, Enterprise offers more than 3,000 hybrid electric vehicles, besides 41,000 flex-fuel cars and light trucks that can run on ethanol-based fuel.
Fox Rent A Car which has offices in the US and international affiliate locations around the world teamed up with EV Rental Cars. EV Rental, the only enviromental based rental car company in the US, has offices in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.
Jeff Pink, founder and CEO of EV Rental Cars decided he wanted a career in protecting the environment after descending into smog fill Los Angeles after vacating in Hawaii with his wife. So he started a rental car company with only green rental cars. Later he teamed up with Fox Rental A Car to increase his presence in the rental car market.
One of the hybrids in EV Rental's fleet is the Ford Escape Hybrid. So, consumers can try a SUV hybrid before they buy one. EV Rental bought the Escape Hybrids from a Ventura California dealer. However, Ford is not making the Escape Hybrids available to the general daily rental market. Unlike Prius, Ford Escape Hybrids are not mass produced. So far, EV Rental or Fox Rent A Car is the only rental company where you can try out a Ford Escape Hybrid.
Brian Chee, an automobile analyst for MyRide.com said that even with the additional hybrid vehicles to rental fleets, the hybrids still only represent a small portion of the rental market. Chee said that it would be interesting to see if rental companies still keep adding hybrids to their fleets after their initial expansion.
With its addition of 3,400 hybrids, Hertz shows the most promise for making hybrids available for rent in the US market. However, not all car dealers are enthusiastic about providing hybrid vehicles for rent. For example, an Austin-area Honda dealer said that it was against corporate policy to sell hybrids to rental agencies. The dealer expressed a desire to keep resale values high for consumers.
The rentals give Toyota Motor Corp. a chance to show off their Prius and give potential buyers a opportunity to try out a hybrid and decide if it would be right for them.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc., Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Avis Budget Group Inc. all offer Toyota's Prius hybrid at selected branches.
Hertz stated that it will invest $68 million to increase its fleets by 3,400 Prius hybrids by 2008. Consumers can rent a Prius from Hertz at 50 branches of the company's U.S airport locations. The New York City offices will have a 100 hybrids available.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in favor of increasing hybrid rental cars. He stated that the hybrid vehicles lines up the city's goal of reducing its emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030.
The stop and go traffic of Manhattan traffic is especially suited for hybrids as it allow them to run mainly on their electric motors thereby reducing vehicle emissions.
Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by as estimated 3,000 tons per year when a 1,000 ordinary rental cars are replaced by a Prius hybrid according to a Hertz's spokesman.
Not to be out done, Avis said it plans to make 1,000 Prius hybrid vehicles available right away. A spokesman for Avis, John Barrows, stated that the hybrids will be offered in its California, Portland, Seattle and Washington D.C. markets. Avis will consider expansion into other locations if the consumer demand for hybrids is apparent.
Already, Enterprise offers more than 3,000 hybrid electric vehicles, besides 41,000 flex-fuel cars and light trucks that can run on ethanol-based fuel.
Fox Rent A Car which has offices in the US and international affiliate locations around the world teamed up with EV Rental Cars. EV Rental, the only enviromental based rental car company in the US, has offices in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.
Jeff Pink, founder and CEO of EV Rental Cars decided he wanted a career in protecting the environment after descending into smog fill Los Angeles after vacating in Hawaii with his wife. So he started a rental car company with only green rental cars. Later he teamed up with Fox Rental A Car to increase his presence in the rental car market.
One of the hybrids in EV Rental's fleet is the Ford Escape Hybrid. So, consumers can try a SUV hybrid before they buy one. EV Rental bought the Escape Hybrids from a Ventura California dealer. However, Ford is not making the Escape Hybrids available to the general daily rental market. Unlike Prius, Ford Escape Hybrids are not mass produced. So far, EV Rental or Fox Rent A Car is the only rental company where you can try out a Ford Escape Hybrid.
Brian Chee, an automobile analyst for MyRide.com said that even with the additional hybrid vehicles to rental fleets, the hybrids still only represent a small portion of the rental market. Chee said that it would be interesting to see if rental companies still keep adding hybrids to their fleets after their initial expansion.
With its addition of 3,400 hybrids, Hertz shows the most promise for making hybrids available for rent in the US market. However, not all car dealers are enthusiastic about providing hybrid vehicles for rent. For example, an Austin-area Honda dealer said that it was against corporate policy to sell hybrids to rental agencies. The dealer expressed a desire to keep resale values high for consumers.
No comments:
Post a Comment