Will car rental companies charge you a penalty for not returning electric-cars with full charge?

Posted: Jan 20, 2011

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2011 Nissan LEAF / 2011 Chevrolet Volt

If you’ve ever rented a car from a car rental service, than you know that you are required to return the vehicle with a full tank of gas or pay some outstanding surcharge fees. In recent months Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hertz have announced that they will be adding electric-vehicles to their fleets including the Nissan LEAF and the Chevrolet Volt.

Well, the question now remains if you would have to return an electric-vehicle with full charge?

According to Lisa Martini, a spokesman for Enterprise, a similar surcharge setup will not be applied to electric vehicles.

“[Enterprise] does not plan to charge customers for bringing back EVs without a full charge. Enterprise is installing charging stations at locations that will offer EVs, and plans to charge the vehicles once they’re returned.”