Hertz Bailing On EVs

As much as the Biden Administration is trying to force us to abandon fossil-fueled cars and trucks in favor of EVs, the motoring public is stiffening its resistance as EVs are increasingly found to be problematic. Proponents keep ignoring the safety, utility, and environmental issues with EVs. No matter what anyone claims they “aren’t ready for prime-time”. And it isn’t just the motoring public who are turning their backs on EVs.

Car rental giant Hertz is selling off a large portion of their EV fleet because “[e]lectric vehicles have been hurting Hertz’s financials.”

...despite costing less to maintain, they have higher damage-repair costs and, also, higher depreciation.

“[C]ollision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle,” Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said in a recent analyst call.

And EV price declines in the new car market have pushed down the resale value of Hertz’s used EV rental cars.

The used EV market is almost non-existent. Who wants to buy a used EV knowing it’s highly likely they will have to shell out $10,000 or more to replace the battery pack a few years down the road? No one.

And while costing less to maintain – no oil changes, tune-ups, exhaust system or catalytic converter replacement, coolant flushes, transmission service, etc. - repairs, even small ones, can be expensive and in some cases can take weeks as parts aren’t readily available. Maintenance and repairs for EVs generally can’t be performed by your local mechanic, requiring them to be taken to a dealer or authorized service center. That always costs more.

As such, Hertz’s decision to cut back on the size of their EV fleet makes sense.

One commenter brought up a good point when it comes to customers renting EVs which also bolsters Hertz’s decision:

Would anyone on a vacation or business trip who has never driven an EV want to waste time trying to figure out how to use one? If you've never had to figure out where charging stations are (download and install an app then figure out how to use it), have no idea how long it takes to charge one, and deal with range uncertainty, why would you risk your limited time doing this?

We've had linked stories on here where people who have owned EVs for a while share their less that stellar experiences when going on EV trips. Imagine trying that when you've never driven one before.

No thank you.

I would expect the only people who would want to rent an EV are current EV owners, and there aren't a large number of those at the moment.

Driving around a place you don’t know in a vehicle you don’t really know while adding on the issue of “range anxiety” isn’t a winning combination. Gas stations are ubiquitous. Charging stations, particularly those that are functional, aren’t.

Filling a gas tank in a couple of minutes versus charging an EV battery for an hour plus? That’s a no-brainer, particularly for long trips. Is it any wonder EVs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and aren’t seen as a viable alternative by a majority of the motoring public?