Turns Out No One Wants To Rent An Electric Car

Guess Nissan doesn't have to worry about the Leaf becoming the ubiquitous rental car anytime soon. Leafs on lots across the country are gathering dust because even rental customers have range anxiety.

According to Bloomberg, people who come in to rent a Leaf from Enterprise are keeping it for an average of just 1.6 days, versus 6-7 days for a normal car rental. And apparently both Enterprise and Hertz have fallen behind on filling their fleets with as many EVs as they promised a couple years ago. Enterprise also planned to add up to 100 Coda sedans back in 2011, but you know what happened with that.

It turns out that getting people to rent an all-electric car in the same way they'd get an all-forgettable Altima for a week has proven a tough sell, even when they go for a similar rate. It makes sense, though, since people who don't own an electric car don't have a charging station at home and quick public chargers are still few and far between if you don't live in a major city or own a Tesla.

And speaking of Teslas, Hertz and Enterprise offer them in some of their prestigious expensive collections of vehicles usually reserved for stuff like Corvettes and special stripey Mustangs. And the rental rate has been similar to the gas-hungry exotics, mostly because the Tesla is also viewed as a toy you pay $500 a day for. Not many people feel that way about a Leaf.

In the meantime, neither Hertz nor Enterprise seems to be letting up on their respective electrifications. Which means you might soon be able to hoon a Leaf for a special low weekend rate. Wouldn't that be nice?

Photo: Nissan