{"id":286378,"date":"2023-11-03T19:01:36","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T18:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=286378"},"modified":"2023-11-03T19:01:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T18:01:40","slug":"hertz-backpedals-on-rush-into-ev-rentals-ceo-says-repair-costs-can-run-twice-as-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=286378","title":{"rendered":"Hertz backpedals on rush into EV rentals: CEO says repair costs can run \u201ctwice as high\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hertz was aiming to make 25% of its fleet electric by 2024, but is finding 11% is too much. Given there are whole nations pushing for 100% EV by 2035 there seems to be a message here\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From JoNova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: NZ archives Christchurch<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hertz was aiming to make 25% of its fleet electric by 2024, but is finding 11% is too much. Given there are whole nations pushing for 100% EV by 2035 there seems to be a message here\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s thank Hertz for doing that experiment for us. It turns out EV\u2019s didn\u2019t work well in the high mileage Uber-type system because the drivers \u201cdrove them into the ground\u201d and repair costs were much higher than expected. So Hertz moved some EV\u2019s to the leisure hire department, but then the revenue per day in the leisure sector fell. Presumably people didn\u2019t want to hire them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not that this is Bad News week for EVs \u2014 it\u2019s quarterly reporting week, so companies have to tell investors things they\u2019d rather not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great nations don\u2019t force citizens to buy heavier cars with shorter ranges and bigger repair bills in order to stop bad weather one hundred years from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hertz rolls back aggressive electric car plans<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Car Expert<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hertz is slowing down the roll out of EVs onto its fleets as the CEO cites higher than expected repair costs and price cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rental car company reported lower than expected margins in the third quarter of this year, citing EV repairs as one of the challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCollision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle,\u201d said Mr Scherr.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It all started out so well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hertz is scaling back its EV ambitions because its Teslas keep getting damaged<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Andrew J Hawkins, The Verge<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rental car company Hertz once envisioned itself as the ultimate EV broker, doling out battery-powered vehicles to business travelers, ridehail drivers, and tech newbies in an ambitious plan to grease the wheels for the EV revolution. The company inked agreements with Tesla and Polestar to buy nearly 200,000 EVs. Tesla\u2019s valuation topped $1 trillion<\/a> on the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the problem is linked to Hertz\u2019s plans to rent EVs to ridehail drivers. Of the 100,000 Tesla acquired by Hertz, half were to be allocated to Uber drivers as part of a deal with the ridehail company. And drivers said they loved the Teslas<\/a>! But Uber drivers also tend to drive their vehicles into the ground. This higher rate of utilization can lead to a lot of damage \u2014 certainly more than Hertz was anticipating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lora Kolodny,  CNBC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk frequently says that electric cars require less maintenance than counterparts with internal combustion engines (including plug-in hybrid electrics). \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But electric vehicle owners can face unique maintenance needs, as well. Nikhil Naikal, CEO of Kinetic, a startup that is not affiliated with Hertz or Tesla but provides repairs for electric and autonomous vehicles, told CNBC on Thursday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reality of electric vehicles is that they can be 1,000 pounds heavier or more than gas vehicles, and they move faster, with higher torque. Since they\u2019re extremely zippy and heavier, it\u2019s just physics \u2014 the ability to overcome inertia so quickly is going to effect their suspension systems, the brakes and steering columns. It\u2019s counter-intuitive, but even with fewer moving parts they are susceptible to requiring more maintenance. They especially require tire-swapping, because the tires wear out more quickly from that high torque and weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t Brenda, Stanley and Yarpos.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hertz was aiming to make 25% of its fleet electric by 2024, but is finding 11% is too much. Given there are whole nations pushing for 100% EV by 2035 there seems to be a message here\u2026 From JoNova By Jo Nova Hertz was aiming to make 25% of its fleet electric by 2024, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":286386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Hertz was aiming to make 25% of its fleet electric by 2024, but is finding 11% is too much. 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Two months after Telsa chargers became the industry standard (which promised to save the other car makers) his profits fell, and he\u2019s fired the entire EV charging team overnight. Hertz, meanwhile, has realized that\u00a0dumping 20,000 electric cars in January\u00a0was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Batteries\"","block_context":{"text":"Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Batteries","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=electric-and-hybrid-vehicle-batteries"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/OIG-13.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/OIG-13.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/OIG-13.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/OIG-13.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":414505,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=414505","url_meta":{"origin":286378,"position":2},"title":"The Hertz-Tesla EV Disaster… What Happened?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The plan was simple. 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