Hertz to sell 1/3 of its EV fleet

[solaskaze]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...rtz-sell-about-20000-evs-us-fleet-2024-01-11/

EV Stocks down, the market doesn't seem to understand *renting* an EV (in a random unknown place) just about skips every benefit of *owning* an EV ... also that Hertz bites, but that is purely a personal choice at this point. Bounce incoming?

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[RWerksman]

From what I've read about this, it appears to be substantially a servicing issue. Expensive and lengthy repairs really take a toll on the overall profitability of a vehicle that must be on the road to make the financials work ta all.

 

[KeithPleas]

From what I've read about this, it appears to be substantially a servicing issue. Expensive and lengthy repairs really take a toll on the overall profitability of a vehicle that must be on the road to make the financials work ta all.

Agreed - the cheaper Teslas (in particular) did not address "Reliability-Availability-Servicability" non-functional requirements. This is not surprising given Musk's lack of understanding of actual engineering principles and practices. They are essentially disposable cars.

 

[moosetags]

This does not surprise me. Driving an EV is not launching rockets, but there is a bit of a learning curve. If a person who has never driven an EV before jumps in one as a rental at the airport they are likely to have problems operating it.

Brian

 

[jjswan33]

I read they also got blindsided by Tesla price cuts which caused a lot of depreciation. They bought these cars at the height of the market and are now selling them at a low point for used car sales.

I guess that is what you get for buying a Tesla

 

[R1SFamilyGuy]

Agreed - the cheaper Teslas (in particular) did not address "Reliability-Availability-Servicability" non-functional requirements. This is not surprising given Musk's lack of understanding of actual engineering principles and practices. They are essentially disposable cars.

I guess that is what you get for buying a Tesla

Can you please expand on that more? I’ve been generally trying to understand the general pushback on Tesla cars - beside build issues (which Rivian have too) and the marketing around AutoPilot and FSD, what makes it a bad product?

a quote from the article points to expenses from collision damages etc - seems like Rivians would have them too going by all the “it cost THIS much to fix a dent” posts on this forum.

"Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter," Hertz said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

 

[Proxy]

I went to the hertz car sales website. 90% of the Teslas for sale have over 48,000 miles on them. For comparison 90% of the Hondas have over 50,000 miles on them. So they are keeping Hondas for 2,000 more miles than Teslas. This has got to be the biggest news story so far in 2024! SARCASM

 

[R1TS]

From what I've read about this, it appears to be substantially a servicing issue. Expensive and lengthy repairs really take a toll on the overall profitability of a vehicle that must be on the road to make the financials work ta all.

That very well could be a major factor. At least here on the West coast, imagine Hertz having to book an appointment 3-4 months out for a Rivian. Not generating any revenue for that long for a rental car can't happen.

 

[R1TS]

I read they also got blindsided by Tesla price cuts which caused a lot of depreciation. They bought these cars at the height of the market and are now selling them at a low point for used car sales.

I guess that is what you get for buying a Tesla

What does that have to do with Hertz deciding to buy more ICE instead? If anything, the depreciation helps Hertz write off more.

 

[pkropf]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...rtz-sell-about-20000-evs-us-fleet-2024-01-11/

EV Stocks down, the market doesn't seem to understand *renting* an EV (in a random unknown place) just about skips every benefit of *owning* an EV ... also that Hertz bites, but that is purely a personal choice at this point. Bounce incoming?

I rented a Tesla from Hertz over New Year's weekend. The car came 100% charged and they expected it at least 95% charged when returned. That's not great. I'd be concerned at buying one with batteries abused like this but it could provide a great study in long term charging levels on EV batteries.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Result of immature charging infrastructure. And extra complexity for a staff with little motivation or aptitude for learning something slightly new/different. Fairly good deals on high mileage Teslas though.

 

[jjswan33]

What does that have to do with Hertz deciding to buy more ICE instead? If anything, the depreciation helps Hertz write off more.

Rental companies buy new cars then use them as rentals and then sell them after a few years. When the go to sell them they have a depreciation due to the use and mileage. The more the depreciation the less money they will have made renting the car.

Writing off money is still money lost that didn't necessarily need to be. It would be different if they were keeping the cars for their whole usable life but people don't want to rent old cars typically.

 

[jplblue]

I rented a Tesla from Hertz over New Year's weekend. The car came 100% charged and they expected it at least 95% charged when returned. That's not great. I'd be concerned at buying one with batteries abused like this but it could provide a great study in long term charging levels on EV batteries.

Most of them seem to be Standard Range Plus. Do those come with LIPO batteries?

 

[virgnia_rivian]

As someone who rents from Hertz and National several times a month for business travel Hertz has made renting EV's confusing and often times annoying. When they first got Tesla's the pitch was you can bring it back at any charge level, they'll take care of the recharge.

If I'm traveling and I have an early flight I just want to drop and go. If I need to top off a gas powered car it takes 5 minutes. With an EV you have to think about it, plan a charging stop and time. Some Hertz locations have given renters a hard time about charge levels. These are all issues Hertz needs to deal with.

 

[elektrode]

and they expected it at least 95% charged when returned. That's not great.

How is that even possible?

Certainly not possible for non-Tesla (due to charging networks)

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