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> Too bad, because EV rentals directly lead to sales. Yea, no. Electric cars are the cheapest option in most rental fleets because demand is tiny, compared to

> Too bad, because EV rentals directly lead to sales. Yea, no. Electric cars are the cheapest option in most rental fleets because demand is tiny, compared to ICE. The rental EV experience is terrible, primarily because, unlike owners, renters don't have a home/garage charger they can rely on. Instead you have to hope that the hotel you're at has a charger, that it works, that it's compatible, that it won't take too long, that there isn't someone else using it. And if you don't return the car 80-90% charged, you pay a fee that's more expensive than filling a typical tank with gasoline! This author nails it: https://archive.ph/yFwEo https://archive.ph/yFwEo

Symbiote 3y ago
Electric "floating" rental cars work very nicely. In many European cities there are fleets of rental EVs which you unlock with a smartphone. The cost is per-minute, or you can prepay a longer time, like a day. I typically use them for moving bulky stuff around the city and small day trips outside the city. There's a 20 minute free credit for ending the trip at a slow charger which is usually easy to do and means the cars are usually close to fully charged. (I still wouldn't want a surprise EV from a normal rental company.)
m463 3y ago
That article talks about an unexpected EV rental experience. I would agree with the author. A person renting an EV to try it on for size would have a different mindset. Also if you rent an ev through hertz, they bombard you with FAQ emails before your rental. The article also was a chevy bolt. I think renting a tesla is a different experience than ccs/chademo because the supercharger network is well thought out with lots of locations with many many stalls, and it is well integrated into the nav system.
- listenallyall 3y ago
  > The article also was a chevy bolt. I think renting a tesla is a different experience Did the OP say "Tesla rentals directly lead to sales."? No, he or she said "EV rentals directly lead to sales." They also didn't say "expected rentals only", and I can speak from experience that Hertz is not notifying renters that reserved ICE cars are oversold and upon arrival, your options are either EV or walking.
bartvk 3y ago
That article is moot if you rent a Tesla. I've done a 2000 km (1200 mi) roadtrip with a rented Tesla, and never actually charged at any hotel. You just navigate to your destination, and every now and then, the navigation tells you to stop at a supercharger. However, the point of the article may still stand if you do not drive a Tesla.
- listenallyall 3y ago
  And how long were each of these stops? How frequently did you stop? Were they never occupied? It's one thing to take a leisurely road trip with lots of time for sightseeing, no rush to get anywhere. It's a whole different experience, for example, when you land in some city to go to someone's wedding or a national park and you're stuck at a charger for an hour or more and end up late to your destination, or maybe you make it initially but don't have the range to get back. There are a million potential problems and just because YOU once did a long chill road trip where you weren't watching the clock or had to be somewhere at a specific time, hardly makes the problem "moot." And when the rental car springs a surprise EV on you, you don't get to pick the brand.

Symbiote 3y ago

Electric "floating" rental cars work very nicely. In many European cities there are fleets of rental EVs which you unlock with a smartphone. The cost is per-minute, or you can prepay a longer time, like a day. I typically use them for moving bulky stuff around the city and small day trips outside the city. There's a 20 minute free credit for ending the trip at a slow charger which is usually easy to do and means the cars are usually close to fully charged. (I still wouldn't want a surprise EV from a normal rental company.)

m463 3y ago

That article talks about an unexpected EV rental experience. I would agree with the author. A person renting an EV to try it on for size would have a different mindset. Also if you rent an ev through hertz, they bombard you with FAQ emails before your rental. The article also was a chevy bolt. I think renting a tesla is a different experience than ccs/chademo because the supercharger network is well thought out with lots of locations with many many stalls, and it is well integrated into the nav system.

listenallyall 3y ago
> The article also was a chevy bolt. I think renting a tesla is a different experience Did the OP say "Tesla rentals directly lead to sales."? No, he or she said "EV rentals directly lead to sales." They also didn't say "expected rentals only", and I can speak from experience that Hertz is not notifying renters that reserved ICE cars are oversold and upon arrival, your options are either EV or walking.

bartvk 3y ago

That article is moot if you rent a Tesla. I've done a 2000 km (1200 mi) roadtrip with a rented Tesla, and never actually charged at any hotel. You just navigate to your destination, and every now and then, the navigation tells you to stop at a supercharger. However, the point of the article may still stand if you do not drive a Tesla.

listenallyall 3y ago
And how long were each of these stops? How frequently did you stop? Were they never occupied? It's one thing to take a leisurely road trip with lots of time for sightseeing, no rush to get anywhere. It's a whole different experience, for example, when you land in some city to go to someone's wedding or a national park and you're stuck at a charger for an hour or more and end up late to your destination, or maybe you make it initially but don't have the range to get back. There are a million potential problems and just because YOU once did a long chill road trip where you weren't watching the clock or had to be somewhere at a specific time, hardly makes the problem "moot." And when the rental car springs a surprise EV on you, you don't get to pick the brand.