What’s WeCar, you ask. Well, WeCar is one of Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s vehicle sharing programs that provides transportation alternatives for businesses, universities and even for personal use. The WeCar program in Sunnyvale is exclusive to Yahoo!, meaning you’ll need a Yahoo! employee badge to get behind the wheel of that plug-in Prius, but Enterprise says it’s “broadening the robust transportation solutions offered,” so there seems to be a chance that more pluggy Priuses will join WeCar fleets across the U.S.
Ryan Johnson, assistant vice-president of WeCar, says the benefits of WeCar include reduced traffic and parking congestion and decreased fuel consumption and emissions. Of course, most all carsharing programs provide similar benefits. Like, for example, at Yahoo! competitor Google’s Gfleet, which added plug-in vehicles earlier this year.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Continues Adding New Vehicle Technology to Enhance Sustainability of Car-Sharing Programs
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Aug. 17, 2011 – WeCar by Enterprise Rent-A-Car is adding a Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid demonstration vehicle (PHV) to the WeCar program at Yahoo!’s Sunnyvale, Calif., campus.
WeCar car sharing complements Yahoo!’s Enterprise Rideshare program – a vanpool service for commuters – to provide a transportation alternative for Yahoo! employees. WeCar provides vehicles for personal use during the work day to more than 50 Enterprise Rideshare participants on Yahoo!’s Sunnyvale and Santa Clara campuses.
“Enterprise is broadening the robust transportation solutions offered to Yahoo! by adding the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid to the WeCar car-sharing program,” said Ryan Johnson, assistant vice president, WeCar. “Together, WeCar by Enterprise and Enterprise Rideshare help alleviate traffic and parking congestion, reduce commuter time and cost, and decrease fuel consumption and emissions.”
Toyota is delivering more than 160 Prius PHV vehicles across the United States as part of a demonstration program. The purpose of the program is to educate and inform the public about plug-in hybrid technology and gather real-world driving data. A fully charged Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid vehicle is capable of running on electricity for approximately 13 miles at speeds of up to 62 mph. For longer distances, the Plug-In Hybrid vehicle reverts to conventional hybrid mode, operating as a regular Prius. The Prius PHV can be fully charged in approximately three hours from a standard 110-volt electrical outlet, or in 90 minutes with a 220-volt connection.
Enterprise will continue to work with Toyota to test the PHV in other WeCar programs that will be implemented in the coming weeks.
“With Enterprise expanding its transportation solutions to offer alternative-fuel vehicles, the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle is a natural fit for Yahoo!’s WeCar program,” said Mary Nickerson, national manager, advance technology vehicles, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “We look forward to gathering feedback from Yahoo! employees after driving the Prius PHV to ensure these advanced-technology vehicles exceed customer expectations.”
Enterprise has introduced electric vehicles (EVs) throughout California, as well as Oregon, Washington, Texas, Tennessee, Hawaii, North Carolina and New York. As part of the nation’s largest EV rental roll-out, the company plans to add EVs in new markets through Enterprise’s neighborhood locations, local business rental programs and WeCarcar-sharing programs.
WeCar offers mostly hybrid, plug-in and fuel-efficient vehicles, delivering car-sharing technology’s speed, efficiency and economy nationwide to businesses, universities and government offices looking to enhance their fleet management operations and sustainability initiatives. WeCar is supported by the extensive Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood network of more than 5,500 rental offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. The program builds on Enterprise’s track record for making “virtual cars®” convenient and affordable for those who buy for the need and rent for the exception.
Organizations interested in WeCar can learn more at www.wecar.com.For more information about the Prius PHV Demo program and Toyota’s commitment to the environment, visit www.Toyota.com/esq.
About WeCar by Enterprise
The WeCar by Enterprise car-sharing program provides a totally automated, membership-based and environmentally friendly transportation solution, whether it is for an hour, a day, a weekend or longer. Enterprise Rent-A-Car launched hourly car rentals in 2005 and local car-sharing in 2007 as a natural extension of its business rental program and longtime focus on customized service in communities.
St. Louisbased-Enterprise Holdings owns and operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand and the WeCar program. With annual revenues of $12.6 billion and more than 68,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings also operates, through its regional subsidiaries, more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest and most comprehensive car rental service provider in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. For more information about Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s WeCar program, visit http://www.wecar.com/. For more information about Enterprise Holdings’ environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of the car rental and car sharing business, visit http://www.drivingfutures.com/ and follow @LeeBroughton on Twitter. [This news release and other WeCar announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.]
About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of nearly 1,500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers which sold more than 1.76 million vehicles in 2010. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion.
