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Hertz orders 100k Teslas

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231–240 of 516 posts

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#231
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably cause it’s hard to get people to charge them before they get returned

I dunno how long it takes to fully charge an EV but it seems to me the market would eventually figure out a way to just not require retiring the car full. The first rental company that does this for free will outsell all the rest. That being said I also don’t know what the turnaround on a returned car is when on a busy lot. Minutes? Hours? Days? They gotta wash and vacuum it at minimum. My guess would be a couple hou…

Minutes. The last three times I've rented I've got a car that was just returned, and even had to wait while they wash and detail the car.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#232
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On long trips, there may be one or more Hertz locations near your route. If all of them stock electric cars, Hertz could offer a premium offering where you change cars along the way...

I certainly do not look forward to constant unloading/loading, adjusting seats and mirrors, and pairing bluetooth again every 3 hours.

Syncing your driving prefs to your phone or to the cloud would be very interesting. Show the car a QR code as you walk up to it?

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#233
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On long trips, there may be one or more Hertz locations near your route. If all of them stock electric cars, Hertz could offer a premium offering where you change cars along the way...

I certainly do not look forward to constant unloading/loading, adjusting seats and mirrors, and pairing bluetooth again every 3 hours.

Other than the loading/unloading of stuff, the rest of these can be handled with some code. Consider the tech stack of the average Tesla, including how they're always connected to the internet already. Tie the settings to your key in the cloud, and then create a UI to move key 123 from car 456 to car 789.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#234
post #125
post #78

I've wanted to try a Tesla for a while now with a view to purchase. There's nowhere near me to rent one (Turo isn't available in my state) and I'd gladly rent one from Hertz. This is a move that could do wonders for EV sales. Exposing people, without commitment, to EVs may just quench some lingering doubts re: charging, etc.

Is there no Tesla showroom/dealership near you? How else would you take delivery?

I don't know about the US, but in Australia at least Tesla will deliver it to your house if you live too far from a showroom.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Takes around 30min to 80% charge a Tesla. Have you ever been to a rental car lot? It's almost always full of cars. And when not full, it's because of the same event everyone is renting for, which doesn't indicate fast turnarounds. There's plenty of extra inventory to charge all the Teslas between customers.

Have you rented recently? Their lots really aren't "always full of cars". A lot of rental companies, especially franchises, have sold a lot of their cars due to reduced demand and insane used car prices.

That's due to a miscalculation around the sudden death of demand due to a global pandemic (which bankrupted a bunch of car rental companies, including Hertz). Now that demand is back, they're rebuilding their inventory, as exemplified by this 100k car order. Things will stabilize, and lots will mostly go back to having plenty of inventory in not too long.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#236

I was very pessimistic about Tesla and confused by their stock price. But I now believe that they indeed are doing it and that we’re finally at the EV revolution. I’m not an early adopter type and the Teslas don’t excite me at all, but I’m really delighted that the market is evolving. I’m delighted that I was wrong.

Note, the EV revolution and Tesla being the winner of the EV revolution are different outcomes. They're certainly winning the EV race now, but it's possible that some of the other car companies can overtake them.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#237

How wonder how Hertz intends to handle turnaround delays. If I turn in an ICE car at noon, they can clean and gas it and (as a guess) a new customer can drive away in it at 12:15. With an electric, filling it with energy could take quite a long time. I'm sure Hertz considered that, but I wonder how that works into their calculations.

hahaha, me picking up a rental:

sales dude: you want to prepay for that full tank of gas, super cheap only for you my friend, just today

me: no

sales: if it's not full it's going to cost 50% more

me: no

sales: look at the gas station prices

me: I never return with completely empty tank so whatever savings get wasted on the fuel I gift you on return

sales: but it's so much cheaper

:%s/gas/electricity/g

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see it more cynically. It's more likely to be that if you don't return it on a full charge then you will face a hefty recharge fee.

According to Car and Driver, a Hertz spokesperson said that ‘customers can return the EVs not fully recharged "for now," a difference from the rules for returning gasoline-powered vehicles.’ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38052601/hertz-buying-100...

Sure, but that's "for now". They're not likely to give up that revenue source forever. They'll eventually have parity between the top-off costs for EVs and ICE cars and pocket the lower cost of gas. (although, it could easily not be a lower cost because of the cost in time.)

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#239
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've given plenty of friends a chance to drive, it takes maybe 30 seconds to explain the drive stalk and park brake. The driving with regen is if anything similar to a dodgem car.

Hertz is poised to make a mint off the people who forget how to open the doors due to muscle memory.

Since some recent software update the mechanical door release now drops the windows a little just like the electrical one.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#240

My first take is negative. American car makers dug themselves a hole because there were a few populations that would buy American cars no matter how bad they got: refugees from WWII (e.g. old Italians, Poles, Jews and Veterans who would never buy a German or Japanese car), police departments, and rental cars. In a case like that the Ralph Naders and the Consumer Reports can be pointing out how bad your product is but…

Add to that thee fact that Teslas seem to have fit and finish issues that show up in under 10,000 miles, I expect a lot of people will have a negative first impression. Or maybe they won't because they expect rentals to be in bad shape?
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