Sixt says it's phasing out the American automaker's EVs from its European fleets because of high costs, including depreciation that's much worse than for combustion cars.
Sixt recently wrote to customers to inform them that it would not be purchasing any new Tesla vehicles for its fleet and would also be disposing of its existing stock of the company's EVs. It went on to explain the reasoning behind the decision, stating that demand for electric mobility is "still significantly below the level of internal combustion engines," but suggested that the real-world cost of buying and running the EVs was the main motivating factor.
The company told customers it couldn't ignore the higher list price and repair costs of electric vehicles, or the steep depreciation that causes EVs to lose value faster than traditional internal combustion cars. And Sixt blamed the price war created by Tesla for the situation.
“These [costs] have come under further pressure due to discount campaigns by some manufacturers, particularly clearly in the case of Tesla,” the rental agency wrote. “Overall this leads to significantly higher holding costs for Tesla vehicles, which we must…take into account in our fleet decisions.”
While many car rental companies are believed to have "buy-back" programs in place with automakers, at least according to Focus.de, the German news site reports that Sixt has no such deal with Tesla that could protect it from a drop in the value of its EV fleet. That could be why customers will still be able to rent electric cars from BMW, Peugeot, MG, Nio and BYD through Sixt, but won't be able to rent a Tesla. Maintaining some sort of EV presence is important if Sixt is to reach its goal of making at least 70 percent of its fleet electric by the end of the decade.
Sixt isn't the only rental company experiencing buyer's remorse over its Tesla purchases. In October, it was reported that Hertz was scaling back its EV expansion plans due to higher-than-expected repair costs and a collapse in resale values as a result of Tesla's steep price cuts.
Source: Focus.de
