We rented a car through Europcar at Tiburtina outside of Rome. We ended up with an electric car. We looked on the internet and it said there were 15 charging stations in Montepulciano. We drove there with 20 km to spare and asked at a gas station if there are charging stations in town. At first they said no then one person said he thought there was one at the car wash. We waited two hours for lunch to be over and then four hours for our car to charge. There were electric charging stations along the highway but many don't work. Would have been nice if the car rental place told us that we needed to download an app or warned that there are few charging stations. Our reccomendation is to stick with gas powered cars in Italy and another car rental company beside Europcar.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
35750 posts
I don't see how the linked thread has anything to do with EV car rental and charging issues even though it is the same poster.
I'm not sure that I would have been quite so sharp.
The threads from 2 years ago do not indicate that they have rented in Europe previously.
It is easy to look back and say what should have been known, less easy to look forward and know what questions to ask...
Posted by
66 posts
The advice to stick with gas is a good one in most European countries, for better or worse - few have as good an infrastructure for loading as Norway.
As to the company - I guess they grab government subsidies for EV and hope for the best, but I doubt you would have been much better of with a different one. That is more a question how good the person that does the advising you on the car you need is - and this will always be hit or miss…
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16959 posts
There have been numerous threads in the past where I advised people not to rent EVs for rural areas, as the charging stations outside of cities are few (if even working), often not fast supercharging, and often the parking spot occupied by people who just decided to park on the free spot. Italians who own electric vehicles charge them at home for the most part, and use public charging stations only when absolutely necessary also because the price at those charging spots ranges from €0.65 to €1.00 per kWh, therefore at least double the price of charging at home. EVs in Italy are really just for commuters, not for long distance travelers in rural areas. Although they are cheaper to rent, they cost more to “refuel” to a visitor given the exorbitant cost per kWh of charging spots.
This has nothing to do with renting from Europcar. Europcar does not manage the charging stations. The same problem would have surfaced with any rental company.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12934 posts
I see this as an example of a why to NOT make your first use of an electric car be while on vacation.
Whether some other rental agency would have done a better job of explaining the quirks and pitfalls of recharging the car is certainly an open question. Not an assumption I would make.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8496 posts
Sorry you had that experience. Did the rental agency give you a choice, and you felt ecological that day? Or did they make you take an EV? Typical of recent discussions here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/electric-or-traditional-car-rental
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16959 posts
I understand that some people might be concerned about polluting, however if the purpose of your renting an EV is to save on fueling costs, that is not going to work if you can’t charge at home. At the current prices Enel X charges at those charging spots, you will pay at least 20% more per km compared to the price of gasoline or diesel fuel. With a diesel engine you can easily travel 18km with a liter of fuel, at the cost of under €1.70 per liter. To travel the same number of km with an EV you need 3 kWh, which will cost you well over €2. So from a fuel cost standpoint, there is really no saving, even without considering the PITA factor of wasting time while your car recharges for 4 hours.