Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corp. and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are joining forces to help promote the use of VE85 (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), VeraSun’s branded ethanol fuel in Enterprise’s fleet of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).
Under the agreement, Enterprise will concentrate its fleet of 41,000 FFV cars and trucks at designated “VE85/FlexFuel” rental branch offices and commit to fuel those vehicles with VE85, with participating Enterprise locations to be located near commercial fueling stations that carry VE85. Currently, VE85 is available at more than 90 retail locations nationwide, said William Honnef, senior vp-sales & marketing for Brookings, S.D.-based VeraSun.
"More and more consumers want to experience firsthand the opportunity to embrace environmentally friendly alternatives such as our cleaner burning biofuel,” he said. “This partnership gives consumers that opportunity by making FFVs powered by ethanol available for trial. This is another step forward in our continuing pursuit to move ethanol further into the mainstream and to support those retailers who are making the fuel available in their marketplace.”
“We understand the importance of embracing economically viable, renewable fuels aimed at reducing the world’s and our dependency on finite fossil fuels,” added Matthew Darrah, senior vp-North American operations for St. Louis-based Enterprise. “With 41,000 FlexFuel vehicles in our fleet and a commitment to group as many of these vehicles as possible near VE85 fueling stations, we can give environmentally friendly alternatives an opportunity to prove themselves to consumers.”
