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By: Benedict Blackmore on Wed Apr 16, 2008

Hybrid cars are more popular than the Pope’s red shoes, as consumers are becoming aware that SUVs aren’t fuel-efficient, and hard on the environment. Many car rental companies are launching “green branches” specializing in hybrid cars, electrical cars, and even cars running on bio-diesel fuels. The transport sector is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases, vehicle exhaust is linked to respiratory problems, and gas prices are growing and expected to reach up to $4 per gallon this summer: consumers are thinking about hybrid cars, and hybrid car sales are increasing. But at this point, many hybrid cars carry with them a prohibitively high price tag that puts off many consumers, even environmentally conscious ones. If you’re interested in making the switch to a green car, what about renting a hybrid car during your next vacation?

Here’s some information on the major rental agencies and their green car policies.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Enterprise’s hybrid fleet is currently at 4000 hybrids, with another 1,500 Toyota Priuses on order and due this spring. (National and Alamo are two lesser agencies that are currently owned by Enterprise, and they have 650 Priuses and 400 Camry Hybrids, as well.) Although Enterprise has the broadest reach of hybrids (they’re available throughout the United States), at this time, reservations can be made by class only, which means that while you can make a request for a hybrid, a rental office will attempt to accommodate you, but can’t guarantee it. Hybrid rentals might also be higher by $5 or $10 daily, depending on the rental agency’s location.

Hertz
Hertz’ fleet is currently hovering around 1,200 hybrids (including 1,000 Toyota Priuses), with 3,500 more Toyota Priuses coming down the line throughout 2008. You’ll be able to find hybrid rentals at most of the major 50 airports throughout the United States, and other various locations. As of the writing of this article, reservations can only be guaranteed for Toyota Priuses, and depending on your location, you may be charged an additional $5 per day.

Avis-Budget
Avis’ hybrid fleet is currently numbered at 2,500 hybrid rentals, 1,000 of which are ever-popular Toyota Priuses and 500 Nissan Altima Hybrids, most of them in California.
As befits its environmentally-conscious and forward-thinking reputation, most hybrids are available on the west coast, especially California, Washington and Oregon, but Avis has hybrids available in Washington, with plans to add hybrids to the fleets in Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. Avis allows you to guarantee reservations on both Toyota Priuses and Altimas.

And if you’re escaping the continental US this holiday season, there are two hybrid hot-spots to keep an eye. Bifuel vehicles in Brazil, where alcohol from sugar cane is used to make fuel to power, are more and more popular, and biodiesel vehicle rentals have been available in Hawaii for some time.

Although reduced fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs are prime motivators in car rental companies adopting the green car approach, many manufacturers are hesitant to make fleet sales of hybrid cars to rental agencies, hoping to keep the re-sale value of hybrids up as a selling point for consumers. As well, the initial ticket price of a hybrid can sometimes make rentals more expensive, but as time wears on, gas prices rise, and global warming continues to be a hot social issue, hybrids will become cheaper and cheaper to rent.