BUDGET is spearheading the drive to position car rental as the most environmentally friendly way to have a car.
Earlier this year, Budget set up a car club in Edinburgh, designed to cut down on car ownership, and launched a car sharing scheme, Driveshare. It was also the first car-rental company in the UK to introduce liquid petroleum gas powered cars into its fleet and is now expanding its commitment to this type of fuel, which is much cleaner than unleaded petrol or diesel.
Sales and marketing director Roddy Graham said:”We do regard ourselves as the leaders where the environment is concerned.”
However, both Avis and Hertz have taken steps to help the environment while National said it is investigating demand for electric and gas-powered cars.
Initially 50 LPG cars – all 1.8-litre Ford Mondeo models – were brought into the Budget fleet in February 1998, and another 50 cars are on order for the end of the year. These will be a mixture of Mondeo and 1.6-litre Ford Focus models.
“Ford’s decision to do this is a major step forward for us as it makes fleet planning easier,” said Graham. Ford is a major manufacturer of LPG cars, but Vauxhall, Nissan, Renault and Mazda also produce gas-powered cars.
Graham added: “Having the smaller cars will also increase their desirability. There is still a degree of unknown about LPG and people generally do not ask for them unless they are interested in environmental issues. They are cheaper to run and do not cost any more to rent.”
An LPG car will do the same number of miles to the gallon as a conventional petrol engine, but LPG costs around 20p per litre less than unleaded fuel, which averages 73p per litre in the UK.
All Budget’s LPG cars are based at its London Victoria and Heathrow locations, but they will be also be available from the new Manchester city centre office opened on September 1.
The big drawback with the LPG cars is the network of fuelling sites in the UK – just 217 compared to 14,000 petrol stations. Budget has a leaflet showing all the available sites, but as a back-up, all gas-powered cars have a tank for unleaded petrol and drivers can switch between the two fuels by pressing a button while driving.
Budget also operates an LPG fleet in France, where it has 150 gas-powered cars, and has more than 100 electric cars in Paris and Lyons. Mainly Renault Clio and Citroen AX models can travel 50-60 miles between recharging. The cars can be recharged at Budget locations or charging facilities subsidised by the French Electricity Board.