Car-rental firms see shift to more fuel-efficient cars

Central Penn Business Journal, Aug 15, 2008 by Carroll, Lindsay

REGION

When the clutch on Dana Zamolyi's car broke in June, she needed a replacement car immediately.

"I had appointments back-to-back, and I was speaking the next morning," said Zamolyi, coach and corporate trainer with Full Motion Coaching in Susquehanna Township. "I knew I'd have the rentaJ car for five days to a week, so I needed something that was fuel-efficient."

She worried because she had out-of-town trips planned, but when she went to Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co., she got what she required, she said.

"The Nissan Versa isn't a hybrid, but it's a compact car that has one of the better fuel efficiencies," Zamoiyi said. "Putting me in a car that I know is fuel- efficient really impressed me, and I was actually considering a Nissan when I went to replace my (rental) car. They could put cars on the lot that were gas guzzlers, but they gave me what I wanted."

Last month, car-rentaJ companies such as The Hertz Corp., Avis Rent A Car System and Enterprise touted hybrid additions to their fleets. Their most loyal customers -business travelers - seem to be getting the efficient cars they desire.

But business travelers typically prefer mid-size cars to sport utility or subcompactvehicles and don't want to sacrifice size for fuel-efficiency Most car-rental firms stock mid-size cars heavily said David Black, president and chief executive officer of Harrisburg Regional Chamber.

Overall, on a national level, gas prices did not change rental behavior drastically, said Enterprise spokesman Ned Maniscalco.

"People who rented compact cars are now renting economy cars, so in the case of business travelers, they might be sticking to company guidelines a little more," Maniscalco said. "But we have not seen full-size or mid-size car renters renting compact cars. The change hasn't been what you might think."

He said business customers have to be analyzed on a case-by-case hasis. At times, businesspeople need to travel in groups, so they need larger vehicies. At other times, they want the most efficient car possible.

Enterprise has more than 4,000 hybrid vehicles and 440,000 cars that average more than 28 miles per gallon, he said. Although the 2008 fleet numbers were unavailable, Enterprise had 728,000 vehicles in its fleet in 2007, according to www. enterprise.com.

"We honestly haven't made too many changes (because of gas prices). We already have the most fuel- efficient fleet in the business," Maniscalco said.

For businesspeople, fuel efficiency isn't just about finances - it's about making a good impression.

"If you're going somewhere and you're selling something, you might be charging the person (for the trip)," said Stanford Cramer, co-owner of Cramer Airport Parking and Budget Rent A Car near Harrisburg International Airport. "If you're driving a Rolls-Royce, the customer's thinking, 'This is going to cost me a lot of money.'"

Cramer said he estimates 85 percent of people coming into the airport and Budget Rent A Car are businesspeople, who need the most efficient cars available.

He said he replaced almost all of the SUVs on his lot with smaller cars, like the Toyota Corolla or the hybrid Toyota Prius, within the past year.

About half his vehicles were SUVs at one time, Cramer estimated. Now, about 5 percent are SUVs.

Customers care about fleet changes at Budget Rent A Car, Cramer said.

"You have to have what the public wants; that's the bottom line," Cramer said. "I would say you have to think outside the box and give the customer what they want, or elseyou don't have the customer."

BY LINDSAY CARROLL

lindsayc@journalpub.com