Renting an electric car for the first time? What could go wrong?

Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (CNN) — Lydia Wu had ne'er driven an electrical conveyance earlier she rented a car from Avis past February. An electrical Genesis GV60 was each they had disposable astatine a location successful Kansas City, Kansas. Wu received nary circumstantial instructions connected really to usage nan conveyance aliases really to find chargers, but she appreciated nan SUV’s ornate and elegant interior.

“If it was a state vehicle, I would wholly see it arsenic my adjacent car,” she said. But she is retired of nan marketplace for an EV.

I, connected nan different hand, person had a batch of acquisition pinch EVs. So erstwhile I precocious rented a Polestar 2 from Hertz successful San Diego and received nary instructions it was nary problem. But I could ideate a first-time EV driver wondering, “How do I move this point on?” Many would beryllium flummoxed by a car pinch nary “Start” button, for instance. In a Polestar, you get successful and it’s on. You get retired and it turns off. A batch of drivers whitethorn beryllium baffled by that alone.

While income maturation has slowed, EVs dress up astir 7% of wide car sales, according to Cox Automotive. Rental car companies whitethorn person overestimated their customers’ readiness for a switch, though. Hertz made a bold move successful 2021, saying it would bid 65,000 EVs from Polestar, 100,000 from Tesla and different 175,000 from General Motors. At nan time, Hertz said that EVs mightiness correspond 25% of its fleet by 2024.

But successful January Hertz said it would waste 20,000 Tesla models, aliases one-third of its fleet, to bargain gas-powered cars.

The company’s CEO astatine nan time, Stephen Scherr, said, “Collision and harm repairs connected an EV tin often tally astir doubly that associated pinch a comparable combustion motor vehicle.”

Scant driver’s ed

In general, large rental car companies, pinch immense fleets to negociate and tons of customers to put into cars, don’t person clip to springiness individual instruction to rookie EV drivers.

And it’s not a seamless modulation from a gas-powered conveyance to an EV. Experienced arsenic I am, I was still taken by astonishment arsenic I approached a extremity ray successful nan Polestar and nan car slowed abruptly arsenic soon arsenic I lifted disconnected nan accelerator. Oh, right…it’s called “automatic regenerative braking.” The Polestar was utilizing its electrical centrifugal to slow nan car while sending powerfulness backmost to nan battery. That’s a bully thing, but, again, I could conscionable ideate a caller renter panicking and thinking, “Is thing wrong?”

Hertz said successful an email that it provides a QR codification that links to a website pinch accusation astir really to complaint and moreover really to thrust individual models for illustration nan Polestar 2. If that nexus was provided during my rental, past I must person missed it. I went to nan website and watched nan videos and, yes, nan instructions would person been helpful. But, let’s look it, really galore group who rent cars return nan clip to publication nan paperwork, fto unsocial spell to a website to reappraisal instructions?

Beyond that, some Hertz and Avis declined to remark for this story.

Doug Jensen, likewise to Wu, recovered owed to scarcity that he had to rent an EV from a Hertz location successful New York City. Given nary instruction connected really to grip charging, he recovered himself trying to usage Tesla chargers for his Kia rental car, not initially realizing they wouldn’t work. Then he had to struggle pinch a non-working EV charger astatine his hotel.

Since then, Hertz has respected Jensen’s petition to ne'er person an EV again, he said. Hertz besides gave him a free rental time and other loyalty points to dress up for his aggravation.

Charging arsenic a sticky point

It was astir around 1 a.m. successful February successful Kansas City, Kansas, erstwhile Wu sewage her rental GV60 pinch its batteries charged up to 57%. She had to quickly find a charger since it was acold and, pinch nan power running, nan artillery was draining faster than normal.

“It was easy to find chargers but nan point is (the navigation package was) pulling up each azygous charger disposable including Tesla Superchargers,” she said. “I didn’t person EV acquisition truthful I had nary thought if Tesla Superchargers were going to activity pinch my car.”

Wu was yet capable to find a charger. She said her acquisition pinch nan EV was bully aft it had been plugged in.

“I could show really my car was doing, charge-wise, from my phone, moreover though it was successful nan parking batch a fewer blocks away. So everything was ace great,” she said.

There are car rental companies that connection customers much hand-holding. In my case, I’ve rented EVs from Turo, a peer-to-peer car rental level that’s benignant of for illustration Airbnb but for cars. Just for illustration pinch Airbnb, immoderate group person group up mini businesses renting their vehicles done Turo and immoderate of them specialize successful EVs.

When I’ve rented EVs done Turo, a big has ever fixed maine a adjuvant walk-through of nan vehicle. The hosts would explicate nan features, thing that was particularly adjuvant erstwhile I rented a Tesla Cybertruck, an EV that has plentifulness of quirks. The Cybertruck had costs much than a $1,000 a time to rent astatine nan clip including security — it had conscionable travel retired — but EV rental costs are usually much successful statement pinch state cars.

Customer work arsenic key

Joulez, an EV rental company, rents its fleet done its ain website arsenic good arsenic done Turo. Founder Micah Bergdale said he had rented EVs years agone and saw an opportunity to do it better, truthful he started nan institution successful 2021.

“The full acquisition that personification has, particularly if they’re not acquainted pinch it, is very different than a accepted state car,” he said.

On nan Joulez website, customers are asked if they person ever driven an EV and if they person immoderate acquisition pinch nan circumstantial exemplary they’re astir to rent. If not, an on-site attendant tin supply an overview. Also, Joulez has a customer work statement if they person issues pinch things for illustration charging.

Of course, a institution for illustration Joulez tin supply that benignant of attraction because it only has locations successful 4 US cities and its fleet consists of astir 150 vehicles. Bigger rental companies, connected nan different hand, negociate hundreds of thousands of cars successful locations nationwide.

And, of course, Joulez and Turo person nan advantage of a customer guidelines that knows up beforehand what they’re renting. Their customers prime circumstantial vehicles, dissimilar customers who rent from large rental companies wherever they mightiness prime a wide people of conveyance but not find retired nan make and exemplary until they get astatine nan lot.

But not everyone has specified a bad clip erstwhile renting an EV from a large rental car company. Jay Waldron, a Georgia resident, rented a Hyundai Kona EV from National while connected a travel to Washington, DC. He loved really nosy it was to drive.

“It was truthful disappointing going backmost to my aged stick-shift 4 cylinder,” he said successful a matter message. “Sitting successful postulation pinch it, I missed that EV bad.”

A fewer weeks later, Waldron bought himself a Kia EV6.

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