NWR EV cars thread

Raymond Tilney said:
Tom,
I wonder if the compared prices included insurance?
Some of Debbi’s clients have U-turned from EV’s as insurance premiums have in some instances quadrupled!
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As far as I can see all come with the same insurance package. My hunch is that the companies are starting to buy in electric fleets, but are finding it more of a struggle to hire them out at this stage. The main thing that put me off buying electric was uncertainty about how easy and hassle-free it would be to find charging when away from home, so I guess hiring one in another country seems like even more of a step into the unknown.

I haven't committed yet, and am still toying with the idea of hiring electric only if I know the car's range (and of course you are never guaranteed a specific model), and how good charging access is at my destinations or along the routes. That's a fair bit of extra research to be done on its own.
 
Tom Cannavan said:
I haven't committed yet, and am still toying with the idea of hiring electric only if I know the car's range (and of course you are never guaranteed a specific model), and how good charging access is at my destinations or along the routes. That's a fair bit of extra research to be done on its own.
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Interesting point on the "or similar" - although I would guess that the options are limited at this point.
 
I guess the business model of Hertz is the resell the cars at the right time to get the best return. Given used EV prices are not what they were, perhaps they just don’t suit that model right now?

I‘ve found renting EV’s to be largely problem-free, but as an EV driver at home, I would say my expectations are realistic. Hertz in France and Germany give you a key fob for Shell, which works pretty much everywhere for charging. Enterprise were less proactive to make sure I knew about charging but they were happy with the car to come back with minimal charge. Hertz charge a fee is the battery is less than 70%.

In some ways it was easier on return…..no having to faff about finding a petrol station.
 
Paul Anderson said:
Looks like there could be a glut of EVs with batteries at, or near, their end of life, that nobody wants due to replacement costs.

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Judging by the headlines of his previous videos not sure this is much of a trusted source. Especially when you look at Autotrader and see the same car aged two years going for £69k at the cheaper end (albeit selling privately). But yes the depreciation is shocking but I think that's an early adopter problem hopefully not a maturing tech problem (in say five years time).
 
I haven't watched his other videos, but it does seem to be a growing concern that the batteries degrade to a point they must be replaced and they seem to be about the most expensive (wear and tear) part of the car, which could mean that more people opt for rental rather then purchase, leaving the rental companies with a huge stockpile of older cars that are too expensive to put a new battery into.
 
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