Hertz EV renters should know charging ins and outs

Hertz Corp. has entered the business of first impressions.

The global car rental company is amassing what it expects will soon be the world's largest fleet of electric vehicles, which primes Hertz to give millions of motorists their first EV experience.

Wanting to explore how the company has prepared for that crucial role, I rented a Tesla Model 3 for two days in late March. As I discovered, the Hertz experience can bring both enthusiasm for EVs and apprehension over charging complications.

Rentals are "quite an effective way for customers to get a bit more familiar with the vehicles," said Ben Schmidt, who covers the car rental industry as an analyst at credit-rating firm Fitch Ratings. "But charging infrastructure is the component that could put a bit of a brake on the uptake."

For uninitiated car renters unaccustomed to giving energy needs a second thought, the forthcoming electric era ushers in a fresh set of variables of when, where and how they might charge.

Along those lines, Hertz established a partnership with BP Pulse, a charging infrastructure subsidiary of oil giant BP, in September to build a national network for Hertz and the public.

"Having a wide and accessible network of charging stations is crucial in the long run," said Henry Ye, another Fitch Ratings analyst.

And in the short run.

Hertz is adding EVs to its fleet at a frenetic pace, intent on staking a leadership position in the mobility sector. The company anticipates 25 percent of its fleet will be EVs by the end of 2024, up from about 9 percent today. It has committed to buying approximately 300,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, Polestar and General Motors.

Already, the company says more than 50,000 drivers have logged approximately 260 million miles in its electric vehicles.

I rented from a Hertz location in Ann Arbor, Mich. A highlight included a thorough explanation of the vehicle any EV newcomer would appreciate. But the overall rental experience came with stressful moments related to charging.

On a rainy morning, the Hertz rental agent spent more than five minutes in the passenger seat, providing tutelage on the particulars of the Model 3. Most importantly, he taught me how to find the Tesla Supercharger network on the vehicle's touchscreen and navigate to those locations.

It felt like above-and-beyond service, leaving me ready to hit the road. But the complications started immediately thereafter.

My rental lacked a full charge, with 82 miles of range remaining — only 30 percent of its stated 272-mile capacity. That provided a slender margin of leeway on a 42-mile drive to Detroit with temperatures hovering in the low to mid-40s.

Hertz aspires to provide a minimum of an 80 percent charge at customer handoff, said Laura Smith, the company's executive vice president of global sales and customer experience. She said my experience was unusual and that the company does "quite a reasonable job at getting the vast majority of rentals out at that level of charge."

But I felt range anxiety right away. On the road, it increased as my range dwindled at a rate faster than actual miles traveled. A few miles into the drive, I turned off the heat and seat heater to conserve power.

Although Tesla's Supercharger network boasts more than 40,000 charging stations globally, the nearest required backtracking to Saline, Mich., or detouring 17 miles to Livonia, Mich., from my eastbound route along Interstate 94.

I stuck with my original plan and reached my destination in Detroit with 27 miles of range remaining. As I backed into a parking space with a non-Tesla charger, a message appeared on the car's touchscreen warning that the battery was low. "We recommend charging now," it read.

To use the charger, I needed an adapter. The Hertz agent had not mentioned that or where to find one. I finally located it under the floor of the trunk, and the remainder of my rental proceeded uneventfully.

Overall, my initial stress and charging hiccup underscored the steeper learning curve an EV rental customer may encounter when compared with the gasoline-powered status quo.

I had spare time. For a businessperson renting a car to reach a meeting or a family headed on a road trip, initial limited range would present a bigger headache.

Hertz remains amenable to switching a rental to a gasoline-powered vehicle if one is available, Smith said, though it is up to customers to plan for their intended journeys.

"Our default position is one where we're not going to actively talk someone out of" an EV rental, she said.

Rental costs can vary by date, location and vehicle segment but are generally comparable. For example, the Model 3 cost $59.68 to rent at the Ann Arbor location where I picked up my car, while a Chevy Malibu cost $61.47 at the same time.

Customers have been enthusiastic about Hertz's electric fleet, Smith said. Business travelers are starting to request EVs to meet employer sustainability goals. Leisure travelers can save costs on road trips, Hertz says, especially with rising gasoline prices, though that might depend on where and when a customer elects to charge. A new segment of renters — the EV-curious and prospective buyers — are using Hertz for test driving purposes, Smith said.

Not surprisingly, suggested improvements from customers focus on one theme: "We've had a lot questions pre-dominantly around charging and where to find charging," she said.

The rental company is working through the challenges. It has already installed 2,250 chargers at its locations across the U.S. so its staff can power vehicles.

Those fast chargers will help Hertz accelerate the turnaround time of EVs and meet its 80 percent charge goal for vehicles leaving rental locations. Right now, that's somewhat dependent on the charge remaining when a customer returns a car.

"The unknown factor is we never know if it will come back with a 10 percent charge or 80 percent charge," Smith said. "The joy of us leading means there's a lot for us to learn and navigate."