Enterprise Rent-a-Car's customers soon will be able to drive away in an electric car. But not in St. Louis.
Enterprise, based in Clayton, will begin distributing 500 Nissan Leaf electric vehicles to some of its locations in January. The Leaf, expected to go on sale in December, will be the first widely available consumer vehicle powered entirely by electricity. Its battery has a range of about 100 miles and therefore is dependent on a network of charging stations.
St. Louis trails many cities in developing the infrastructure to support electric cars, and Nissan has indicated it views the metro area as a lagging market. So for now, St. Louis will have to wait.
"It really comes down to that, where more charging stations are available," said Enterprise spokeswoman Lisa Martini.
The markets Enterprise has determined have the necessary infrastructure are Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Knoxville and Nashville, Tenn.; San Diego; Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle.
Martini said the company plans to begin offering other electric vehicles as they become available and to expand the Leaf into other markets as the charging infrastructure develops.
"We don't have any immediate plans to come to St. Louis with the Leaf, but that doesn't mean we couldn't offer something through another manufacturer," she said.
New Jersey-based rental-car company Hertz made a similar announcement in February and expects to begin adding the Leaf to its fleet before year's end, spokeswoman Paula Rivera said. Hertz will offer Nissan's electric car in New York, Washington and San Francisco as well as some U.S. college campuses and major European cities.
Both companies said they are in the process of installing charging stations at their rental locations.
But whether consumers will be willing to rent an electric car in an unfamiliar city with limited battery charging infrastructure remains to be seen. Larry Fisher, a researcher with technology market research firm ABI Research, thinks it's a bit early to expect consumers to start renting electric cars.
Drivers will likely be skittish about only having a battery life of 100 miles, Fisher said, what he refers to as "range anxiety."
"It's kind of a chicken and egg thing," he said. Electric cars won't be popular until there's enough charging stations, and there won't be enough charging stations until electric vehicles are popular.
But, Fisher said, "It could be a very important first step in getting that infrastructure built out."
