randix

They cite level of demand does not justify how much they went all in...

No surprise there. Lack of widespread charging availability, "too complicated" (the whole process) for your "average" renter; they went too fast out of the gate in going "all in", and now Tesla's in the resale market, has dropped, along w Hertz's use of depreciation

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...red%20vehicles.

notquiteaff

Last few rental attempts, they priced their EVs much higher than equivalent size gas vehicles. I ended up with a better deal from Avis or Budget (and sometimes even a Tesla). Obviously, a few data points are just anecdotes, but hey, I tried to rent their EVs, but just couldn’t their rates.

The story mentions this:

"Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter...," Hertz said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Don’t they charge those expenses to the customer and/or insurance when an EV is returned damaged?

randix

CEO did an interview on CNBC earlier this morning, my take away based on what he said... level of demand doesn't justify the size of their EV inventory fleet level, push back by many renters to rent EVs, state of the resale markets for Tesla's, depreciation considerations.

and more on the subject...

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/11/2...-polestar-used

invisible

One word of advice - if you are tempted to buy these cars - don't.

safari ari

I rented a Tesla with Hertz this past summer, solely because it was the cheapest rate (with all my corporate etc). It was a major PIA to deal with charging/range. Even while traveling up and down the NJ turnpike, I had to sit at rest-stops or garage parking stations in between my daily activities, since there was no at home charger or similar. I did a simple cost calculation, and my German ICE provided the same cost/time range that the Tesla did, without me needing to worry about charging and the time it took. EVs are not for me, and surely would not rent one again.

Repooc17

I have always seen EV rental rates being cheaper, sometimes much cheaper than the cheapest gasoline vehicle. I will choose the latter.

lwildernorva

I felt from the beginning that Hertz was overestimating the rental demand for EVs. I'm someone who might consider renting an EV (I was an early adopter on hybrid vehicles), but I never found the Hertz offer compelling, partially because the infrastructure is not yet there and Hertz was demanding that customers recharge the Teslas with a penalty just like leaving a gas vehicle's tank less than full. It may be a hassle to refuel a gas vehicle before dropping it off, but that hassle pales in comparison with trying to find a conveniently located charger. In addition, I think Teslas in particular are facing some backlash as Elon Musk is hardly as popular a figure as he was several years ago.

I do believe EVs are the future, but they definitely are not yet the present.

LarryJ

As a Tesla owner, I was surprised at how fast Hertz expanded their EV fleet.

EVs are different. If you treat them like an ICE car you will not get good results. There is a learning curve which many EV renters will not have yet climbed and that will lead to bad experiences.

A co-worker was telling me a story about renting a Tesla in Vegas and driving to Lake Havasu. He was interested in EVs but didn't know much about them. He used the integrated navigation but ignored it when it routed him to a Supercharger along the way. He was looking at the range display (next to the batter icon) but he didn't know that was based on the EPA consumption, not his current trip or his recent driving history, as it is on many ICE cars. He ignored all the warnings and ran out of power and had to get the car towed back to the Supercharger. When I talked to him, he still didn't understand what went wrong. He didn't know how to find destination chargers or how they were different for Superchargers.

That's what unsuspecting renters face. It's great for someone who knows, or makes the effort to learn, about EVs but there is a lot to learn.

As for me, I've never rented anything other than a Tesla since I've owned mine and will continue to do so. Until the other EVs have made the switch to NACS, I'll avoid renting them. The CCS charging network is a mess.

estedman

Color me surprised.

CalItalian

Was at LAX Sunday. They were isolating many Tesla's on a portion of the huge lot to ready them to be transported away. LAX has the most EV's of any station by far and most customers just aren't ready for them, I was told. SUV's are still the biggest vehicles in demand and over the summer Hertz LAX was in very short supply.

pfreet

You have to bring them back fully charged? Insanity. Who thought up this brilliant idea? :-(

Ragnarok

As an EV owner who have taken my non-technology oriented older parents on a road trip in EVs, I feel like there are some useful contexts here that I can add.
There are some Hertz specific and timing factor in here as well.

The charging experience with Tesla are very easy, after a brief explanation to my 60+ years old parents that it's really just like charging and using an iPhone, they get it. Even let them try charging the car and they got it right. But you can't just give one to an inexperienced renter without that heads up. Now, admittedly, the non-Tesla charging experience is not good at all right now.

This is made worse by "Manager's Special". This would have been much better experience if they were just placed at the PC section for people who want/knows/curious about EVs.

The biggest hit to Hertz is really that Hertz bought their Tesla fleet at the height of the car shortage period when Tesla did increase their prices. Tesla subsequently discounted the cars in 2023 back to 2019 pricing levels. Had Hertz been able to wait until 2023 when the IRA kicked in, they would have also gotten a $7500 tax credit for each of them. (Not commenting on if it's right for a rental car company to benefit from the IRA like that, that's for Omni)

The higher collision/damage expense is a half true, half BS excuse/explanation on their part. Hertz charges renters for any damages and loss of use for damaged cars. Not to mention their business decision to partner with Uber and rent EVs out to Uber drivers. What did they expect would happen?

notquiteaff

That’s not the policy.

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reser...TESLA&EOAG=LAX

Renting an Electric Vehicle / EV / Tesla from Hertz

randix

Exactly. In the past I use to reserve the "Manager's Special" as unlike apparently most here, and notwithstanding my frequent rentals, I really didn't (and don't) care what car I got (get) as long as it has 4 tires and runs with a no hassle rental experience, and if I can save a few bucks, great. But then when EVs came along and Hertz made clear you might end up with an EV as a "Manager Special", I immediately stopped as I have no interest in dealing with charging (although my preferred local Hertz location in Vegas always goes out of their way to make sure I never end up with an EV as a Manager Special). But if I was going to rent from any other Hertz location a "Manager Special", no way am I going to take that "risk". Your observation is spot on, any "non-Flyertalk type" (ok, generalization) individual who went for the cheapest option, often the "Manager Special", I'm sure got a heck of a surprise when they ended up with an EV and being generally unfamiliar with EVs, had a very unpleasant driving, charging, rental experience. Will be interesting to see if Hertz continues to include EVs as one of their options under "Manager's Special". I suspect they will.

DataPlumber

At least for a business traveler, charging is cumbersome and time consuming even to get it to 70%

Last month, I got an AMG EQS from my local MB dealer as a loaner. Their policy is bring is you can bring an electric back empty. ICE cars you have to refill the tank. For the premium that was quoted for an electric, Hertz could have easily taken the same policy.