As we all become more aware of the impact that global emissions are having on our environment, DriveNow recognises that many travellers would like to be able to search and compare hybrid rental cars to minimise their carbon footprint.
With that in mind, we have created a separate vehicle category dedicated to hybrid low emission car hire and simply called it "Green Cars". For the first time in Australia you can compare the Australian hybrid car rental fleet from our rental partners including Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty, side by side, in a clear, concise and simple format by location. What's more the latest deals and rates are constantly and automatically updated to guarantee the greatest choice and flexibility. Simply choose "Green Cars" and select your airport or city destination. This is an evolving process and whilst the initial choice of vehicles is modest as manufacturers rollout new models and our rental partners add these to their fleets Drivenow will automatically include them to ensure you always have the widest possible choice.
Hybrid Car Rental has arrived
In a commitment to lower carbon emissions, Europcar, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Thrifty have all added Toyota's fuel efficient Prius to their fleet of rental vehicles.
The Toyota Prius is an ultra low carbon emissions hybrid car which uses petrol / electric technology, making it one of the most environmentally friendly cars on the market. The Prius switches between petrol and electric power to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
Want to go the extra mile?
Europcar Australia has partnered with Greenfleet, a non profit organisation to offset the carbon emissions of every new vehicle that is added to its fleet. In 2007 this will result in a $250,000 commitment and over 100,000 trees covering 100 hectares of degraded land being planted.
How it works:
For each car Greenfleet will plant 17 native trees (this costs $40). These trees will help to create a forest, and as they grow will absorb the greenhouse gases that the car produces in one year (based on 4.3 tonnes of CO2 for the average car).
Science shows that 17 mixed species trees will not only absorb a car's greenhouse emissions, but will also help to tackle salinity, improve water quality and provide essential habitat for native species.
Who is Greenfleet?
Greenfleet was launched as a project in 1997, and subsequently Greenfleet Australia was established in 2001 as a not for profit environmental organisation.
Greenfleet specialises in reducing the environmental impacts of transport by:
Planting native trees to offset current CO2 emissions.
Promoting fuel-efficient technologies and low carbon fuels in order to reduce emissions in the future.
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