The Tesla is a nice car… and, while expensive, it is fairly cheap to operate.
But having a fleet of them as rental cars will not work out well for Hertz.
A “normal” gas powered car can be easily refueled and have the range added back in minutes….A Tesla takes hours to be quickly filled to capacity so the battery can give full range. (yes, you can charge up to 80% in about an hour, but that assumes you have the chargers available….How many chargers is the average Hertz Rent-A car gonna have at each location?)….and are they gonna have the space for each car to sit thre for an hour or more? When demand for cars is high, are they gonna be able to turn those cars for the next renter quickly? Right now, they can turn a car in about 10 minutes, assuming they have the labor….Fully fueled, cleaned and all checks completed….versus an hour or more for the Tesla. (and if someone runs out of battery are they gonna have to go get them with a generator? Versus a gas can and a jump pack for a dinosaur fueled vehicle?) Not to mention the charging issues away from the rental depot.
It makes nice headlines, and I am sure that Hertz wants to appeal to the Green folks…..but having one in 5 of their cars battery powered will not work out well. I bet they cancel the order after only 10% is delivered.
And only delivered to major metro areas…
I’ve driven more rental cars than I can count. For years I was in a rental monthly, often weekly, as I travelled for work.
When I first read about this I thought “What a stupid idea”. Then I realized that many times I only drove a few hundred miles. More, the whole “fill up the tank “ before returning is a pain. So I think for many rentals this might not be a bad idea.
The issue comes as you say, this changes the turnaround at the busy locations and I suspect Hertz will back away. The whol thing will be a logistics nightmare for the back of the lot. Where do you stage dozens of cars being charged?
Marketing came up with the idea. Operations rolled their eyes in the concept meeting and lost the fight at the executive level.
do NOT give me one of those POS. i do NOT want to spend hours of my vacation recharging a pos ev.