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Tourists don't want electric cars - 'There simply isn't enough demand for them'
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Sunshine piefed.ca Sunshine@piefed.ca
Joined: 2025-06-07
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31   Original
Canajan piefed.ca Canajan@piefed.ca
Joined: 2026-01-30
#2 · Quote Reply

I assume a lot of visitors, like myself want a vehicle capable of going on the F roads. They would need something like Rivians for that not teslas.

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betanumerus lemmy.ca betanumerus@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-02-22
#3 · (edited) Quote Reply

Tourists need hotels with EV charging stations. It's the rental car company's job to create demand by partnering with hotels to make it easier for tourists to charge than it is hunt for gas stations. Rental car companies siding with fossil fuels is the problem. Tourists demand easy transportation not maximum emissions.

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Piatro programming.dev Piatro@programming.dev
Joined: 2023-06-09
#4 · Quote Reply

Got a petrol car for €60 for about a week. I did look up the equivalent electric. Maybe it's an issue of supply and demand, but the for the same time it was about €200. Kind of a no brainer from the consumer point of view.

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GreyEyedGhost piefed.ca GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca
Joined: 2025-11-30
#5 · Quote Reply

Got a petrol car for €60 for about a week. I did look up the equivalent electric. Maybe it's an issue of supply and demand, but the for the same time it was about €200. Kind of a no brainer from the consumer point of view.

How much did you spend on gas for that week? In Europe, from what I've heard, you would break even at 2 or maybe 3 tanks of gas.

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lluki feddit.org lluki@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-25
#6 · Quote Reply

How much did you spend on gas for that week? In Europe, from what I've heard, you would break even at 2 or maybe 3 tanks of gas.

I rented EVs and ICEs for doing the same 1000km trip in Switzerland. Europcar offered to bring back the car empty, so one charge was included. The extra cost of the EV was offset by the fuel savings then, even when charging at expensive highway chargers. The difference was quite small tho

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fuckwit_mcbumcrumble lemmy.dbzer0.com fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2024-03-20
#7 · Quote Reply

How much did you spend on gas for that week? In Europe, from what I've heard, you would break even at 2 or maybe 3 tanks of gas.

If you’re a tourist you also need to factor time into that. Since time is at a premium. 5 minutes at the gas station vs 20 minutes waiting to charge makes a lot more of a difference on a trip.

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GreyEyedGhost piefed.ca GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca
Joined: 2025-11-30
#8 · Quote Reply

If you’re a tourist you also need to factor time into that. Since time is at a premium. 5 minutes at the gas station vs 20 minutes waiting to charge makes a lot more of a difference on a trip.

But we're also talking about Europe vs. North America, where there is a good chance your destination is within a charge of wherever you're staying, in which case just charging at or near your hotel costs basically nothing.

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HerbGrower slrpnk.net HerbGrower@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2026-07-09
#9 · Quote Reply

I wonder if some of it is a selection bias in tourists who rent cars in the first place. People more accepting of EVs perhaps are already using public transport or bikes instead, because they don't have an obsession with ICEs.

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Kanzar sh.itjust.works Kanzar@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-08-16
#10 · Quote Reply

It's Iceland, it's still cold AF which affects range, very little infrastructure outside of the capital (no random rest stops with toilets, let alone charging stations), none of the hotels I stayed at had regular power ports near the parking lots let alone charge stations. Why would a tourist rent an EV in Iceland??

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onlyhalfminotaur lemmy.world onlyhalfminotaur@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-01
#11 · Quote Reply

I wonder if some of it is a selection bias in tourists who rent cars in the first place. People more accepting of EVs perhaps are already using public transport or bikes instead, because they don't have an obsession with ICEs.

This article is from Iceland... The number one thing you do there is rent a car/RV.

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HerbGrower slrpnk.net HerbGrower@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2026-07-09
#12 · Quote Reply

This article is from Iceland... The number one thing you do there is rent a car/RV.

I have known multiple people go there and none rented a vehicle

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nilloc discuss.tchncs.de nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
Joined: 2023-06-22
#13 · Quote Reply

I assume a lot of visitors, like myself want a vehicle capable of going on the F roads. They would need something like Rivians for that not teslas.

Ford fiestas are fine on those roads, at least the rental ones are.

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homik slrpnk.net homik@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2026-05-10
#14 · Quote Reply

One reason, maybe the only one, I'd avoid renting an EV abroad would be that hereabouts lots of public chargers need an app and an account to use which is complete BS. I would not want to risk that in a strange country. Gas stations I'd expect to accept cash or credit card.

Of course, knowing the country has sane chargers would completely change that.

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benjirenji slrpnk.net benjirenji@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2026-04-13
#15 · Quote Reply

One reason, maybe the only one, I'd avoid renting an EV abroad would be that hereabouts lots of public chargers need an app and an account to use which is complete BS. I would not want to risk that in a strange country. Gas stations I'd expect to accept cash or credit card. Of course, knowing the country has sane chargers would completely change that.

I mean when I traveled in the US my credit card wouldn't be accepted at gas stations because I have a 4 digit zip code. There's worse than creating an account.

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Chahk beehaw.org chahk@beehaw.org
Joined: 2023-06-08
#16 · Quote Reply

Tourists need hotels with EV charging stations. It's the rental car company's job to create demand by partnering with hotels to make it easier for tourists to charge than it is hunt for gas stations. Rental car companies siding with fossil fuels is the problem. Tourists demand easy transportation not maximum emissions.

A hotel I stayed at in Florida had a charging station. With a grand total of one charger.

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betanumerus lemmy.ca betanumerus@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-02-22
#17 · Quote Reply

A hotel I stayed at in Florida had a charging station. With a grand total of one charger.

Most have none. So 1 is respectable. But many also have 2 or more. One i went to allowed me to use regular 120V.

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Chahk beehaw.org chahk@beehaw.org
Joined: 2023-06-08
#18 · Quote Reply

Most have none. So 1 is respectable. But many also have 2 or more. One i went to allowed me to use regular 120V.

Whoah.. The whole 120v? They must have been feeling generous.

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betanumerus lemmy.ca betanumerus@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-02-22
#19 · Quote Reply

Whoah.. The whole 120v? They must have been feeling generous.

Well to be fair, plugging into some 120V will blow a fuse. That's happened to me too.

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