Rental car operators are cautious about deploying EVs in fleets as they wait for stability in pricing, charging infrastructure, and rental customer education.
Photo: EV Connect
Compared to other fleet sectors oriented more toward duty cycles and predictable transportation, the rental car industry has proven to be the wild car of EV adoption.
The prevailing attitude among rental fleet operators includes a mix of skepticism, reluctance, curiosity, and dread. Their No. 1 concern: Fearful customers hostile to hassling with charging infrastructure in unfamiliar locations.
In Part 5 of the Operator Outlook series from the 2025 Auto Rental News Fact Book, the interviewees answered the following question: What is your approach to electric vehicles relative to the demand?
The fallout from Hertz’s major EV selloff in 2024 has reverberated throughout the car rental industry, with operators becoming more cautious about deploying them in fleets and waiting for stability in pricing, charging infrastructure, and rental customer education.
Michael Fathi, CEO, Hub Mobility Group (York Car Rental), Commerce City, Colorado, said his company doesn’t offer EVs because his customers don’t want them.
Photo: York Car Rental
For now, the mood toward EVs seems to be no, not yet, or maybe next decade.
“We don’t have electric vehicles and don’t want them because customers don’t want them,” Fathi said. “The issue is that when customers come in, many have never been to Colorado, and the mountains don’t have enough charging stations. They want a peaceful car rental and holiday experience. You have to return EVs with a certain level of charge, and people rushing back to an airport don’t want to be delayed. I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”
Dill is blunter: “What demand?” Infrastructure and unfamiliarity of the area are top challenges for potential EV renters, he said. “You have a local market on the coasts that hasn’t spread further. Resale values are questionable. Maintenance is uncertain. EVs are not for car rental in the next five years. You still need the infrastructure.”
Hemmert emphasized the higher costs of EVs and the lack of charging infrastructure to support them. “There is a storm on the horizon with EVs. EVs for the car rental industry have been a bit of a disaster in different ways. Customer acceptance on EVs is horrible with the burden of driving an unfamiliar vehicle and not being sure where to charge.
“There is no doubt they are coming, but the question is when,” added Hemmert, who does not run EVs in his operation.
In the more active EV market of Los Angeles, Midway Car Rental has seen a need for EVs to meet customer expectations, Kolodziej said. “In 2023, we loaded up on EVs for 6% of our fleet, and we found they rented well. We learned that certain makes and models were more in demand than others. For example, Tesla owners in L.A. demand Teslas.
“We manage our EV fleet a bit more aggressively to ensure you have an EV available for somebody who must have one. We are careful not to be over-fleeted in EVs at this point. We are looking closely to see where EV demand and the market take us. On the other hand, we will take hybrids all day long.”