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In 2021 the Hertz Corporation made the bold move to purchase 100,000 Teslas for its rental fleet. As we see from the social media post below, the move received a mixed reception from customers. For those of us who already owned EVs, the decision was a welcome one, as it gave us a chance to drive an EV while on vacation. However, for folks who wanted to rent an EV to see what they were like, the experience could be difficult. In hindsight, Hertz’s introduction of EVs was well intentioned, but poorly executed. Let’s look at what went down and the current status.
A typical experience from a new EV renter is captured in the following Reddit post with a long thread of comments.
I’d never driven an EV, but when the price of renting an EV was significantly cheaper than a gas-powered car in Southern California, I thought I would give it a try.
The nightmare
1. I picked up the car at 10 PM. The garage was dark, and there was no manual in the car. It took me quite a while to get on the road.
2. I chose hotels that had EV charging. When the battery got down to 40%, I decided to charge it. I read the manual online. The charger gave a significantly cheaper rate using the app instead of using contactless. The car kept giving me an error 5 minutes into the charging process. I went to other charging stations, downloaded different apps, and got the same error. I read online that the car was compatible with a Tesla charger, but when I got there I found I needed as special adapter! I went back to the hotel, talked to the front desk and they recommended that I try another one of their chargers. Finally success! Came back in the morning. The car and charger both indicated the system was still charging, but it had charged less than 1 kilowatt hour.
3. I called the car company and asked if I could return the car at another location. They said yes, but they said they could help me find a compatible fast charging station. They also explained which connectors were compatible with my car. The location they recommended had six chargers, four super-fast and two fast. Four of the chargers were in use. I hooked up to the available super-fast charging station. No error! Then I found out it was out of service. I then hooked up to the fast one. Success. I could only fill up to 80% because I had plans.
Conclusions:
1. Google Maps is much better than Apple Maps at finding a station that is compatible with your needs.
2. Charging is a pain in the A. You need to plan ahead if you are traveling any distance. B. Even with a super-fast charger, you need to an hour to charge the car and you aren’t supposed to leave it there after it’s charged. Not exactly convenient. C. Many people don’t remove their car after it’s charged.
3. I travelled cross country two years ago and stopped at numerous national parks. An EV would have made this trip very difficult.
4. An EV is much better if you have a charging station at home and don’t use it to travel more than 100 miles from home.
Toooskies made a comment about the car:
If it was an older Bolt, their charging is two-to-four times slower at fast charging than “new” models.
Legitimate-Type4387 made a blunt, but helpful comment:
This sounds like a lack of good judgment on your part just as much as anything else.
Before purchasing an EV, I spent about 30-45 minutes familiarizing myself with how charging works, what the different charging standards are for each vehicle, how public charging works, necessary apps, etc. I figured it would be good to know how to actually charge the car.
I didn’t expect that I would be able to just pick it up at the dealership and just go without any prior knowledge.
You decided to go in blind while on vacation, despite knowing you were going to be renting a car that was a totally new experience for you.
Advertising
ScuffedBalata remarked about how the Tesla Supercharging network makes all the difference:
“I would only ever rent a Tesla.
I flat turned down a Nero once even when it was significantly cheaper.
I don’t want to have to chase down eight apps from six different charging companies just to track down a charger and play the “is this charger broken” roulette.
Superchargers work, just “’roll up and plug in’.”
What ever happened to all of those Teslas that Tom Brady was hawking for Hertz?
In October of 2021, Hertz announced plans to buy 100,000 Tesla Model 3s, signaling that electrified rentals had arrived. Shares jumped, sending Tesla’s valuation to over one trillion dollars and lifting Hertz that week. Elon Musk later clarified there was no special fleet contract, but enthusiasm persisted.
The strategy promised first mover status and hopefully so differentiation in a sea of identical car rental counters. Corporate clients could advance sustainability targets through rental fleet choice, while curious travelers could treat a rental like an extended EV test drive. Hertz paired the Tesla order with a plan for roughly 3,000 fast chargers across 65 markets.
The scale of Hertz’s EV offering grew quickly. By the end of 2022, Hertz ran a global fleet above half a million vehicles, with roughly 49,000 Teslas, accounting for about nine percent of the total fleet. Analysts estimated the Tesla purchases to be 2.5 billion dollars in a total rental fleet of more than 10 billion dollars of vehicle acquisitions. EVs from Polestar and General Motors rounded out the offering.
Hertz found that operating EV to be harder than anticipated. Rideshare demand absorbed most EVs with week-long rentals and lower revenue. Collision frequency ran high because many renters were first time EV drivers who were not used to instant torque, stronger low speed acceleration, and one pedal driving. Hertz found than repairing EVs cost about double comparable gas-powered vehicles, and parts bottlenecks stretched downtime. Finance were also squeezed by sharp Tesla price cuts at the end of 2022. The cut accelerated depreciation and depressed margins.
Hertz made adjustments in waves. They restricted Teslas to experienced rideshare drivers, negotiated cheaper parts, and brought more repairs in house. To address the EV learning curve and higher incidence of collisions, Hertz invested in customer education and airport drive events at major airports.
Hertz is currently scaling back its ambitious EV plans and selling off a significant portion of its electric vehicle fleet due to higher-than-expected depreciation and repair costs, along with lower-than-anticipated customer demand for EV rentals. The company is also exploring selling these vehicles directly to customers who are renting them, an effort that has been described as connecting customers to their sales channels. These changes come after Hertz reported significant losses in 2024 related to its EV program which led to the replacement of its CEO. Hertz’s bet on EVs put a dent in profits, but expanded know how, infrastructure, and brand equity.
Bottom Line
EV market share is growing overall and all indications show that they are here to stay. Those who own them love them and more drivers are buying them. Hertz should be lauded for their bold business move, but in hindsight, it looks like they moved a little to aggressively in incorporating EVs into their fleet, and their initial rollout left much to be desired.
Please Drop Your Thoughts in the Comments Below
Have you rented an EV from Hertz or another agency, and how did your first charging session go?
Should rental counters require a five minute EV orientation or video before handing over keys?
Chris Johnston is the author of SAE’s comprehensive book on electric vehicles, “The Arrival of The Electric Car.” His coverage on Torque News focuses on electric vehicles. Chris has decades of product management experience in telematics, mobile computing, and wireless communications. Chris has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA. He lives in Seattle. When not working, Chris enjoys restoring classic wooden boats, open water swimming, cycling and flying (as a private pilot). You can connect with Chris on LinkedIn and follow his work on X at ChrisJohnstonEV.
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Source: torquenews.com
