Enterprise Rent-A-Car recently helped open an E85/FlexFuel vehicle branch in St. Louis, part of its long-term environmental strategy to promote ethanol use. The St. Louis location joins similar E85/FlexFuel branches in Washington, D.C. and three in Ohio-- Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton.
“We are committed to fueling our FlexFuelvehicles with E85, sending a strong message that we are ready to embrace new technologies and alternative fuels as they become commercially viable,” said Tony Moise, vp and gm of Enterprise’s operations in the St. Louis area. “Those who produce and sell FlexFuel vehicles and E85 fuel need to know that if they make it, we will buy it, and we will encourage our customers to use it as well.”
The Taylor family of companies – which includes Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car – currently operates the largest fleet of FlexFuelvehicles in the U.S.: 54,000 cars and trucks have the ability to burn E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Nationally, Enterprise is actively deploying as many of its FlexFuelvehicles as possiblenear E85 fueling stations to build consumer awareness and increase the number of cars being fueled with E85, said Moise.
He added that Enterprise’s new St. Louis E85/FlexFuel branch will have about 35 General Motors FlexFuelvehicles available for rental. To educate customers about E85, Enterprise will provide in-car materials showing the locations of other St. Louis-area E85 fueling stations, and offer information on the environmental benefits of the fuel.
“We know there are two things we need to be successful for the long term – cars and fuel,” said Moise. “Part of our goal as a company is to reduce the environmental impact of our fleet. But we know our customers care about the environment, too. We want to make it easier for them to make sustainable choices. In St. Louis, this focus on E85 and FlexFuel vehicles will help us accomplish that goal.”
