Mercury launches EV rental service

Mercury has launched an electric vehicle subscription service offering cars from $100 a week as a way of enticing drivers to plug-in transport.

The energy company has teamed up with Snap Rentals for the service which offers a Gen 1 Nissan Leaf for $399 a month if renters sign up for six months. At the other end of the scale, a Tesla S starts at $2099 a month for a three-month term.

Mercury says there are no extra charges and it’s a way of getting those people put off by the purchase price of an EV, said Mercury’s chief marketing officer Julia Jack.

“Our research has shown people know EVs are better for our country and environment and many are ready to consider one as their next car.

“It also suggests there are some concerns about up-front costs,” she said.

The scheme had the potential to “turn the traditional car ownership model on its head”.

The service insulates drivers from depreciation shocks and takes away the hassle and extra costs.

Apart from the excess that would come into effect in the event of a claim being made, the insurance, maintenance, roadside assistance and registration costs are all included.

Running an EV typically costs the equivalent of 30c a litre for the electricity to run it.

The Auckland service so far had about a dozen cars which Mercury said was enough to meet the early demand with the ability to get additional cars in the near future.

“If there’s significant demand, we’ll work with industry experts to get access to cars at a pace, value and quality that we can sustainably invest in to make them easily accessible to customers.”

The Gen 1 Leaf is six years old and has a 115km range. Renters don’t have to be Mercury customers and Jack said if they decided the car chosen wasn’t for them, they could swap it out for another model or stop their subscription.