Comm - 215 Lotus Rental Car Feasibility Report

Lotus Rental Cars’ Alternative Fuel Vehicle Feasibility Report

COMM/215

November 10, 2014

Dr. Dean E. Dowling

Lotus Rental Car's Alternative Fuel Vehicle Feasibility Report

Introduction

While Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) will cost more to purchase than the standard gasoline-powered equivalent, the feasibility of adding AFV vehicles to Lotus' rental fleet will allow the company to offset this additional cost by receiving numerous AFV credits and discounts; as well as have a positive impact on the environment. The increased cost of crude oil in the international market translates to higher costs of refined petroleum products, which cause AFV’s to become more attractive to consumers. More and more car manufacturers are producing vehicles that use alternative fuels and the movement to AFVs gaining support in our society.

Background

An AFV is a vehicle that does not operate “solely” on standard fuels, such as gasoline or diesel. These vehicles, by design, are intended to improve air quality and the environment by lowering (or eliminating) ozone-depleting emissions. Some alternative fuels are produced domestically, reducing our dependence on imported oil while others are derived from renewable sources. Often, they produce less pollution than gasoline or diesel (fuel economy, 2007). A wide variety of alternative fuel vehicles or dual fuels, are currently on the market; these AFV’s use a variety of different alternative fuels. Common types of fuels used are ethanol, biodiesel, denatured alcohol and natural gas. These fuels have been around for many years, but widespread utilization has been supported in the last decade. Natural gas is used in two forms to fuel vehicles: compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). CNG is the type used for passenger vehicles, which can run on CNG alone, or have a bi-fueling system that uses both CNG and gasoline (greener choices, 2006). Running a vehicle on compressed gas lowers the vehicle's emissions...