Ep 35 - Hertz EV Rentals in West Michigan

Hertz store manager Oren Danino spoke with us about his experience renting out Teslas, Polestar, Volvos, Kias, and many other EVs from his location at 640 28th Street Southeast in Grand Rapids, MI.

He shared some fascinating facts and experiences of how the EV rental business is progressing. 

Show Notes and Links

- Hertz EV Rentals - https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/rental-car-deals/electric-car-rentals/
- Hertz 28th Street Grand Rapids location - https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/location/unitedstates/michigan/grandrapids/GRRC20
- Activating Shell Recharge with ChargePoint app - https://youtu.be/gyOOvRVFIzY
- Tesla “Magic Dock” Charge your non-Tesla - https://www.tesla.com/support/non-tesla-supercharging
- SparkCharge EV roadside charging - https://www.sparkcharge.io/
- GM EV1
   - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1
   - “Who Killed the Electric Car” - the GM EV1 story - https://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/
   - EV1 display locations:
      - Studebaker National Museum, South Bend, IN - https://www.studebakermuseum.org/
      - R.E. Olds Museum, Lansing, MI - https://www.reoldsmuseum.org/
- Volvo C40 - https://www.volvocars.com/us/cars/c40-electric/
- Polestar - https://www.polestar.com/us/

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro and Sponsorship
• 1:06 Oren Danino intro
• 4:09 Rental Polestar charging encounter
• 4:51 Hertz GR rental fleet
• 8:09 Who is the typical EV renter?
• 9:52 Low prices on EV rentals encourages first time renters
• 12:54 What Hertz has done for first time EV renters
• 14:20 State of Charge leaving and returning
• 16:16 Explaining charging networks for first time EV renters
• 19:01 Rental EVs for Uber
• 20:21 Impact of Tesla Supercharging network access
• 22:01 Access to public charging is critical
• 23:58 Roadside assistance
• 25:30 What about the positive experiences?
• 27:11 Advice for EV renters?
• 28:05 GM EV1
• 29:44 Primary maintenance cost is tires
• 30:40 Battery replacements
• 33:56 EV service
• 41:05 What does Oren drive?
• 41:47 Polestar and Volvo EVs
• 46:26 Final advice and outro