Nissan Motor to sell 500 Leaf electric cars to Enterprise Rent-A-Car for customer use

Enterprise to offer Nissan Leaf to rental drivers

NEW YORK — Nissan Motor Co. will sell 500 Leaf electric cars to Enterprise Rent-A-Car starting in January, as the Japanese automaker aims to put more drivers behind the wheel of its battery-powered vehicle.

Enterprise said Tuesday it will make the Leaf available to customers in eight different cities starting next year. Charging stations will be installed at 100 different Enterprise rental locations beginning in November.

The cost of renting the Leaf, which runs 100 miles on a full charge of its lithium-ion battery, hasn’t been determined yet, Enterprise spokeswoman Lisa Martini said. But, like the hybrid vehicles that Enterprise rents to customers, the rental price is likely to be higher than its gasoline-powered cars, she said.

The Leaf will be Nissan’s first fully electric vehicle and is one of several battery-powered cars hitting the market over the next several years. Nissan is currently taking reservations from Leaf buyers and will start deliveries of the hatchback to customers in select markets in December. The vehicle will have a base price of $32,780 in the U.S., but that will be brought down by a $7,500 tax credit to $25,280 — the same price Enterprise is paying for the vehicles.

Nissan said 17,000 people have placed orders for the Leaf so far in the U.S. Buyers in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee will receive the first deliveries in December. The Leaf will go on sale in other markets over the course of the year, becoming available nationwide by the end of 2011.

Enterprise said it will make the Leaf available to customers starting in the following cities in January: Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Ariz., Knoxville, Tenn., Nashville, Tenn. and Portland, Ore.

Separately, General Motors Co. announced the pricing on the Leaf’s closest rival, the Chevrolet Volt. GM said the Volt will cost $41,000 before tax credits when it goes on sale in November. Unlike the Leaf, the Volt runs on electricity for just 40 miles, then a gasoline engine kicks in to power the car much further.