[gibsonguy]

Hertz was already on life support than they made this epic blunder. No one who mattered had the common sense to realize people who rent cars do not want to have to deal with the nightmare of public charging stations. Almost unbelievable

[fuzzylogic]

Hopefully this puts other CEO’s on notice. Be more careful.

This decision was made during the high of ‘everyone is going EV’ mentality - the automakers were moving their strategies to EV’s, Tesla was riding high, etc..

Then it all fell off a cliff. None of them considered their customers. For Hertz, it’s particularly baffling. A car rental is very simple for the customer, I want to pick one up like fast food - as fast and painless as possible, a good experience, and done when I need. Keeping the vehicle going needs to be also as painless as possible. I don’t care about it. It’s temporary. Now you’ve made it a hassle, I’ll go with somebody else.

The automakers saw the success Tesla was having and tried to follow. Except they also didn’t stop to understand the customer base. Many Tesla customers are feel-good liberals that think they’re saving the planet, have well-paying jobs, and consider it ‘status’. There’s only so many of them. The average Joe doesn’t care less, they don’t want the hassle. Give them a reliable fuel efficient vehicle (because gas is expensive) and they’re happy. When gas is cheap they’ll buy muscle cars - and be happier.

Dictating to your customers is never a good idea. It’s also another great example of government interference in the market, centralized decision making (aka dictating).

[Tell It Right]

Hertz was already on life support than they made this epic blunder. No one who mattered had the common sense to realize people who rent cars do not want to have to deal with the nightmare of public charging stations.

IMHO, there is a market for a car rental company to have a few EV's on hand (way less than Hertz did). I know a few people who rented an EV before buying one. Some liked it and bought an EV, some hated the experience and chose not to buy one. Renting one gave insight beyond the hype.

Here's what the real issue is with EV's. From the article: There is money to be made in this market, as there is with any niche good or service. But that is covered with normal market conditions, not massive subsidies, mandates, and frenzies. The Hertz case proves it.

Free market is always the answer. To the EV question and pretty much everything else, get government out of the way.