Rental companies are adding more electric vehicles to their fleets in Australia, giving interested buyers the chance to take an extended test drive – on their own terms and away from a high-pressure sales environment.
Want to know what it’s like to live with an electric vehicle, before signing on the dotted line?
Car rental companies in Australia have begun introducing electric cars to their fleets, allowing interested parties to see how – and if – a zero-emissions vehicle fits in their daily lives.
The latest news comes from Hertz, which this week announced the battery-powered Polestar 2 – the Chinese electric offshoot of Volvo – is now available to rent from selected location across Australia.
The roll-out is part of a deal to supply 65,000 Polestar models to the Hertz global fleet over the next five years, in addition to its order of 100,000 Tesla Model 3s made in October 2021.
In a call to investors earlier this month, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said electric cars cost about half as much to maintain than equivalent petrol and diesel cars, according to website EV.
“On maintenance … we are running kind-of 50 per cent to 60 per cent of what maintenance costs are on [internal-combustion engine] vehicles,” Scherr said.
“If there’s [any] surprise, it’s probably [a] slightly higher expense on tyres – but not much more – and that’s embedded in the figure I’m giving you.”
In April 2021, Europcar announced it had added the electric MG ZS EV to its fleet, allowing would-be buyers to try out Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle before purchasing one.
Newcomer Sixt – formerly known as Thrifty, and represented by NRMA in Australia – has arguably the most diverse range of electric vehicles, with the MG ZS EV, Hyundai Ioniq, Hyundai Kona EV, and Tesla Model 3 all available to rent through its network.
Sixt has also set up a number of electric car drive days with NRMA, allowing motorists in New South Wales to get behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 or an MG ZS EV for a no obligation test drive.
Gas and electricity provider AGL now offers a subscription service for electric cars, allowing customers to take a Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq, or Mini Electric on a weekly basis, with other models due soon.
Startup Evee also offers peer-to-peer vehicle subscriptions, exclusively for electric models, with vehicles available from BYD, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, and Tesla.
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