Electric cars soon available from rental companies

As early as January, electric cars will be available at the nation's two largest auto rental companies.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, North America's largest car rental firm, unveiled plans to offer about 500 Nissan Leaf all-electric cars, initially at dealerships in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle. Hertz plans to offer Leafs at a handful of locations in the United States and Europe next year. A fully charged Leaf has a range of about 100 miles.

But some questions about renting electric cars have yet to be answered. For example, representatives say the price of renting a Leaf will probably be higher than for gas-powered vehicles.

Perhaps a bigger concern for renters is whether they would have to pay a penalty for returning the vehicles with depleted batteries. Fully charging a Leaf takes up to eight hours at a charging station and 20 hours from a standard home outlet. If travelers don't have time to recharge the car before returning it, the rental firm must take the vehicle out of service to recharge it. Enterprise and Hertz representatives said they were working out a solution.