ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of a partnership to promote the increased availability and use of alternative fuels and technologies throughout the United States, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is designating its premier rental location in Washington, D.C., as an official “E85/FlexFuel branch.”
The news is tied to today’s announcement that Enterprise’s partners VeraSun Energy, one of the largest producers of ethanol in the U.S., General Motors (GM), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have joined forces to make VeraSun’s branded E85, VE85™, available to the general public for the first time in the District of Columbia.
For Enterprise, the move is the latest addition to a comprehensive and long-term environmental stewardship platform. The company has the world’s largest fleet of FlexFuel vehicles – 41,000 cars and trucks that have the ability to burn E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Nationally, Enterprise is actively deploying as many of its FlexFuel vehicles as possible near E85 fueling stations in order to increase the number of cars being fueled with E85.
“As the owner of the world’s largest vehicle fleet, we are committed to fueling our FlexFuel vehicles with E85 and sending a strong message that we are ready to embrace new technologies and alternative fuels as they become commercially viable,” said Matthew G. Darrah, Enterprise Rent-A-Car senior vice president of North American operations. “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.
“Here in Washington, we are honored to be first in line to put VeraSun’s VE85™ fuel into our General Motors cars,” said Darrah. “We’re also proud to be a member of the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership. It’s a pleasure to join with others who share our commitment.”
More than half of the fleet at the Enterprise E85/FlexFuel branch – located at 1029 Vermont Ave. NW in Washington, D.C. – will be FlexFuel vehicles and able to use the VeraSun E85 fuel. According to the EPA, E85 can reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 20 percent. Enterprise estimates it will refuel the 50 GM FlexFuel vehicles at this branch with more than 3,000 gallons of VE85™ per year. To educate customers about VE85™, Enterprise will provide in-car materials about the fueling station location (Georgetown Chevron, 2450 Wisconsin Ave. NW), as well as about the environmental benefits of the fuel.
“With nearly one million vehicles in our fleet, we have to be part of any public policy conversation that deals with the two things we need to be successful for the long term – cars and fuel,” said Darrah. “We need access to both and both must be acceptable to society. For us, environmental stewardship is about sustaining our business for the long term by addressing the parts of the world our business touches. Embracing renewable fuel blends like VE85™ and alternative technologies like FlexFuel is a step in the right direction to reduce vehicle emissions and cut our dependence on fossil fuels.”
VeraSun Chairman and CEO Don Endres said, “We are very pleased to be working with Enterprise on this initiative. This will allow consumers to experience driving an FFV running on E85 prior to purchasing a new vehicle. This is one more step forward in our continuing pursuit to move E85 further into the mainstream while driving business to our participating retailers.”
Michelle Bosch, Enterprise Rent-A-Car vice president and general manager for the greater Washington D.C. region, said, “Part of our goal as a company is to reduce the environmental impact of our own fleet. But we know our customers care about the environment, too. We want to make it easier for them to make sustainable choices, and dedicating our premier branch in D.C. to VE85™ and FlexFuel vehicles will help us accomplish that goal.”
For more information about Enterprise, visit www.enterprise.com .
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