Aug 7, 23, 3:31 pm
Last edit by: jackal
Hertz has been aggressively adding EVs to its fleet. As of mid-2023, it's not uncommon to see various EV options as the cheapest offerings by Hertz, so a lot of folks end up choosing to rent EVs and end up with questions. This wiki and this thread exist to help people get the best experience out of their EV rental.
This Wikipost is currently focused on rentals in the US.
Hertz policies for recharging:
Current sample reservation T&C for EVs <-- clickable link
Current sample rental T&C for EVs <-- clickable link
The policy has morphed a bit over the last year, and Hertz has been somewhat inconsistent with the information they provide publicly on EV charge requirements. In some materials (e.g. various blog posts or emailed informational materials), they mention requiring returning it with 80%, while others mention 70%. Even the two authoritative links above (one from the reservation system and one from the link provided in the emailed rental agreement) differ. These two quoted lines are the most current information available from the rental jacket available at the time of this writing:
To simplify it as best as possible:
EV FAQ (please help us flesh out!)
How much range does an EV have?
How do I charge an EV? (Level 2 vs DC fast charging, Tesla vs. CCS)
EV availability on Gold/5*/PC aisles
EV types bookable with /carried by Hertz (including internal car classification group code and travel agency ACRISS code)
Tesla Model 3 - Group E7 - JCAE
Tesla Model 3 Long Range - Group E8 - JCAC
Tesla Model Y - Group E9 - RFAC
Polestar 2 - Group C4 - JDAE
Kira Niro EV or Chevy Bolt EUV - Group E1 - IFAC
Kia EV6 - Group L8 - SGAC
Subaru Solterra - Group L7 - SGAE
Volvo C40 - Group C3 - JFAC
Manager's EV Special - Group C6 - XXAE (location's choice of EV)
Manager's Special - Group A6 - XXAR (location's choice of any car, can include EV)
Also carried: Chevy Bolt EV (not reservable but often used as Manager's EV Special?)
This Wikipost is currently focused on rentals in the US.
Hertz policies for recharging:
Current sample reservation T&C for EVs <-- clickable link
Current sample rental T&C for EVs <-- clickable link
The policy has morphed a bit over the last year, and Hertz has been somewhat inconsistent with the information they provide publicly on EV charge requirements. In some materials (e.g. various blog posts or emailed informational materials), they mention requiring returning it with 80%, while others mention 70%. Even the two authoritative links above (one from the reservation system and one from the link provided in the emailed rental agreement) differ. These two quoted lines are the most current information available from the rental jacket available at the time of this writing:
EV CHARGE LEVEL AT PICK-UP AND RETURN– Hertz will endeavor to provide the EV at time of vehicle pick-up with a battery charge of 80%. You are required to return the EV with a minimum charge of 10%. You are responsible to maintain a sufficient charge on the EV during your rental. You will be responsible for the cost of any tow if the EV is not drivable due to a low battery. You are not authorized to call a private tow on Hertz’ behalf. All tows of the EV must be by flatbed and must be arranged through Hertz Emergency Roadside Assistance. If the EV is overdue for return Hertz may remotely disable and recover the EV.
CHARGE PURCHASE OPTION (CPO)/EV BATTERY RECHARGE FEE/UNDERCHARGE BATTERY FEE – With the purchase of the optional Charge Purchase Option (CPO) for a fee of $35.00 at the time of rental, You can return the EV at any charge level above 10%. If You return the EV at the same charge level as at the time of rent, the CPO charge will be removed. If You do not elect to purchase the optional CPO and You return the EV with a charge level less than 70% You will be assessed an EV Battery Recharge fee of $35.00 unless the charge level at time of rental was less than 75%. If the EV is rented at with a charge level of less than 75% no EV Battery Recharge fee will apply at return. If You return the EV with a charge level less than 10% an Undercharge Battery fee of $25.00 will apply in addition to any applicable EV Battery Recharge fee.
- If you receive the car with 75% or more charge, return with at least 70% (otherwise, there is a $35 recharging fee)
- If you receive the car with 74% or less charge, return with at least 10%
- In all cases, return the car with at least 10%, otherwise, there is an additional $25 undercharged battery fee (on top of the $35 recharging fee, if applicable)
EV FAQ (please help us flesh out!)
How much range does an EV have?
How do I charge an EV? (Level 2 vs DC fast charging, Tesla vs. CCS)
EV availability on Gold/5*/PC aisles
EV types bookable with /carried by Hertz (including internal car classification group code and travel agency ACRISS code)
Tesla Model 3 - Group E7 - JCAE
Tesla Model 3 Long Range - Group E8 - JCAC
Tesla Model Y - Group E9 - RFAC
Polestar 2 - Group C4 - JDAE
Kira Niro EV or Chevy Bolt EUV - Group E1 - IFAC
Kia EV6 - Group L8 - SGAC
Subaru Solterra - Group L7 - SGAE
Volvo C40 - Group C3 - JFAC
Manager's EV Special - Group C6 - XXAE (location's choice of EV)
Manager's Special - Group A6 - XXAR (location's choice of any car, can include EV)
Also carried: Chevy Bolt EV (not reservable but often used as Manager's EV Special?)
Renting an Electric Vehicle / EV / Tesla from Hertz
Oct 25, 21, 5:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 1,113
Renting an Electric Vehicle / EV / Tesla from Hertz
Hertz Orders 100,000 Teslas in Car-Rental Market Shake-Up
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...?sref=WJKVI5nKLast edited by jason8612; Oct 25, 21 at 7:38 am Reason: editing font
Oct 25, 21, 7:49 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 33
Hertz Orders 100,000 Teslas in Car-Rental Market Shake-Up
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...?sref=WJKVI5nKTeslas would be a good vehicles to grab. For long drives, the only problem would be waiting around to charge.
Oct 25, 21, 10:42 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: DTW
Programs: BW Diamond, Choice Plat, National Exec Elite
Posts: 3,121
I've seen Teslas at National/Enterprise locations in Denver and Orlando, so they are out there.
It's nice to see them joining the fleet, but I'm guessing they will be premium vehicles. Also, it'll be hard to bring back fully charged. The gas tank needle looks full if you refill 10 miles away. How far can you go before the battery drops below 100%?
It's nice to see them joining the fleet, but I'm guessing they will be premium vehicles. Also, it'll be hard to bring back fully charged. The gas tank needle looks full if you refill 10 miles away. How far can you go before the battery drops below 100%?
Oct 25, 21, 10:58 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: AA Plat Pto, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,525
As an non Telsa EV owner I welcome this. I drove my first Prius 15 years ago as a result of the Emerald Aisle selection and suspect many drivers will be won over by a real world extended test drive.
Oct 25, 21, 12:11 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 3,471
National has been rolling out small numbers of EVs. From what I've heard from National employees, few customers want them.
The fact is EVs are a niche product and I predict they will remain that way until there is a major battery breakthrough allowing recharging to be as fast and widely available as gas. That could take decades, if it happens at all...
The fact is EVs are a niche product and I predict they will remain that way until there is a major battery breakthrough allowing recharging to be as fast and widely available as gas. That could take decades, if it happens at all...
Last edited by m907; Oct 25, 21 at 12:24 pm
Oct 25, 21, 12:41 pm
#8
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: LAS
Posts: 202
I've seen Teslas at National/Enterprise locations in Denver and Orlando, so they are out there.
It's nice to see them joining the fleet, but I'm guessing they will be premium vehicles. Also, it'll be hard to bring back fully charged. The gas tank needle looks full if you refill 10 miles away. How far can you go before the battery drops below 100%?
It's nice to see them joining the fleet, but I'm guessing they will be premium vehicles. Also, it'll be hard to bring back fully charged. The gas tank needle looks full if you refill 10 miles away. How far can you go before the battery drops below 100%?
Oct 25, 21, 4:27 pm
#12
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I laughed when I discovered this was the cause of the TSLA stock bump today. It's a great deal for Tesla, Hertz is paying non-discounted full-price for these vehicles. For Hertz, not so much.
As a former Hertz renter (mainly due to price), I find zero of interest here. First, I see these will be "premium" vehicles, and I am almost always a midsize or SUV guy. Second, if I am renting a vehicle I do not have the time or inclination to find a charging station much less wait 30 minutes or more to juice up. I will likely end up at a hotel and I have yet to see a hotel with more than a handful of chargers, if any. So where do I charge overnight? Third this won't work for the drive to Hana, national parks etc where chargers are even more difficult to find than gas stations. Fourth, business travelers often don't even have time to gas up at the end of the trip, so I can't see them renting a Tesla that may run out of juice during the middle of the day, much wasting time during the hotel rez process to research charging capacity.
I honestly don't see the appeal here except for green nuts who think that renting a Tesla will somehow save the planet, or maybe as an ego boost for those who would normally rent a BMW or Benz.
But hey, what do I know, I work for an oil company...
As a former Hertz renter (mainly due to price), I find zero of interest here. First, I see these will be "premium" vehicles, and I am almost always a midsize or SUV guy. Second, if I am renting a vehicle I do not have the time or inclination to find a charging station much less wait 30 minutes or more to juice up. I will likely end up at a hotel and I have yet to see a hotel with more than a handful of chargers, if any. So where do I charge overnight? Third this won't work for the drive to Hana, national parks etc where chargers are even more difficult to find than gas stations. Fourth, business travelers often don't even have time to gas up at the end of the trip, so I can't see them renting a Tesla that may run out of juice during the middle of the day, much wasting time during the hotel rez process to research charging capacity.
I honestly don't see the appeal here except for green nuts who think that renting a Tesla will somehow save the planet, or maybe as an ego boost for those who would normally rent a BMW or Benz.
But hey, what do I know, I work for an oil company...
Oct 25, 21, 5:43 pm
#14
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Posts: 2,847
So, my instinct was that this is going to be a non-starter in terms of getting that much of the market to be electric. Then I checked resale prices...
My guess is that Hertz is going to "flip" a bunch of these within a year or two. Given their financial situation and prevailing car resale prices, Hertz can likely get the use of these cars for a year or two for "free" (used 2018 Teslas seem to be selling at above their initial sale price), and this insulates Hertz against a price rise in the next year or two. Frankly, I would not be surprised to see Hertz using the last 20k of this order to replace part of the first 20k of it that they're already selling on for a small profit, having pulled in $10k+ in rental fees while they were at it.
The big win for Tesla is that this also gets around Tesla's lack of dealerships in many states, since Hertz selling on used Teslas won't be constrained in the same way, so this will get the cars onto somebody's lot more effectively.
So this is a smart move all around: Hertz gets cars that will likely cost them next to nothing to own for a year or two, and might even appreciate in that timeframe, while Tesla gets around their biggest logistical jam but the cars are likely still semi-captive for maintenance and so on.
My guess is that Hertz is going to "flip" a bunch of these within a year or two. Given their financial situation and prevailing car resale prices, Hertz can likely get the use of these cars for a year or two for "free" (used 2018 Teslas seem to be selling at above their initial sale price), and this insulates Hertz against a price rise in the next year or two. Frankly, I would not be surprised to see Hertz using the last 20k of this order to replace part of the first 20k of it that they're already selling on for a small profit, having pulled in $10k+ in rental fees while they were at it.
The big win for Tesla is that this also gets around Tesla's lack of dealerships in many states, since Hertz selling on used Teslas won't be constrained in the same way, so this will get the cars onto somebody's lot more effectively.
So this is a smart move all around: Hertz gets cars that will likely cost them next to nothing to own for a year or two, and might even appreciate in that timeframe, while Tesla gets around their biggest logistical jam but the cars are likely still semi-captive for maintenance and so on.
Oct 25, 21, 5:47 pm
#15
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I'm curious on how the "re-fueling" thing will go for renting this from Hertz. Even in "more green" parts of Europe, finding a parking spot to charge the car at some hotels -- especially when it's a busy time for the hotel -- can be a challenge. And given my rental car use patterns, I'm probably not going to have the time and opportunity to frequently hang out somewhere for "topping off" the battery's charge before drop-off. Is Hertz going to deal with this kind of issue by pushing me and other customers to go for the "prepay fuel" option or face a huge mark-up on "fuel" if not being returned "full"?
Hertz should be able to actually help lower recharging costs in parts since cars sitting on the Hertz lots could have their charging time set for those hours or circumstances when electricity costs are lower than the average for the day for say the typical home owner around 3-20 miles around.
Hertz should be able to actually help lower recharging costs in parts since cars sitting on the Hertz lots could have their charging time set for those hours or circumstances when electricity costs are lower than the average for the day for say the typical home owner around 3-20 miles around.
