Rental car drivers apparently love the idea of electric cars but aren't quite sold on actually driving them.
People who drive off in electric vehicles from Enterprise Holdings Inc., the biggest U.S. auto renter, often bring them back to trade for a car that runs on gasoline. According to Bloomberg, drivers get anxious about whether or not they will be able to recharge the vehicle.
"People are very keen to try it, but they will switch out of the contract part way through," Lee Broughton, head of sustainability at Enterprise, told Bloomberg. "Range anxiety makes them think they can't get to a charging station."
About 140,000 plug-in electric cars are on U.S. roads, a figure substantially short of President Barack Obama's goal for 1 million of the cars by 2015, according to data from the Electric Drive Transportation Association.
Limited driving range for electric vehicles, most of which run out of juice in less than 100 miles, has stalled demand, analysts believe. At Enterprise, customers rent the electric cars for about 1.6 days on average, compared to about a week for conventional vehicles.
Prices indicate that consumers view electric cars as a unique experience rather than a vehicle suitable for everyday use, Christopher Agnew, an analyst at MKM Holdings LLC in Stamford, Conn., told Bloomberg.
Longer range would help, especially since customers are typically renting in unfamiliar places, Agnew said. For now, hybrid cars that can run on electricity or gas will likely remain the more popular option among environmentally conscious car users.
Hybrids have been easier to promote because they're similar to conventional cars, according to Paula Rivera, a spokeswoman for Hertz Global Holdings Inc.
"The pick-up was a bit quicker because hybrids are bit easier for people to understand and range anxiety didn't exist," Rivera said.
Consumer interest in electric cars will increase as more people have opportunities to test them, said Sam Ori, executive vice president at the Electrification Coalition, an EV trade group.
"Until you get people comfortable with this technology it won't really take off," he said.
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