⚡ American Lease's Fisker Bet Begins, Large NYC TLC Rental Company Adopts EVs
NYC TLC rental giant American Lease "hacks-up" its first all-electric Fisker Ocean, providing a unique opportunity to reflect on politics, policy and electrification goals
American Lease is one of the largest NYC TLC rental companies with ~5,000 for-hire vehicle (FHV) licenses (a/k/a TLC Plates)
Fisker, an EV startup that filed for bankruptcy, recently agreed to sell over 3,000 of its luxury Ocean SUVs to American Lease
“Green Rides” wheelchair accessible (WAV) and electric vehicle (EV) 2030 NYC rideshare mandate is forcing rental companies to transition fleets
First American Lease-owned Fisker Ocean is now TLC-plated, which provides a unique opportunity to reflect on politics, policy and electrification goals
As a quick reminder American Lease, one of the largest for-hire transportation (TLC) rental companies in New York City, recently reached an agreement to buy over 3,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from bankrupt automaker Fisker.
We won’t re-hash the entire background and thoughts on the American Lease transaction (please see our previous article if you’re interested to learn more), but will rather focus on a recent NYC TLC X post (f/k/a “Tweet”) stating:
“Our dedicated team of Safety and Emissions inspectors at Woodside just approved the fleet’s first Ocean Fisker for the road, expanding our #GreenRides fleet by one. Every zero-emission TLC vehicle contributes to making our city cleaner and more livable.”
- NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission official X post (August 16, 2024)
What Was T6*****8C Before?
In the TLC’s publicly shared social media post(s), one can clearly see the TLC Plate number (i.e., T6*****8C) attached to the Fisker Ocean that passed inspection on Friday, August 16th. This is also how we confirmed the Fisker is owned by an American Lease-related entity.
Another observation is the TLC Plate attached to American Lease’s Fisker is a “historical” FHV License. In other words, the for-hire vehicle license was not issued as part of the short-lived reinstatement of the EV exemption to the FHV License Pause (TLC Plate Cap) in October 2023. American Lease is attaching its Fisker to an older TLC Plate (i.e., pre-2018 TLC Plate Cap).
We thought an interesting exercise to do was to reference historical NYC Open Data files to understand what vehicle was previously attached to this FHV License. Our research indicates that a 2017 Toyota Camry (not hybrid) was previously attached to this TLC Plate.
In many ways transitioning an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle to an EV is more inline with the TLC’s Green Rides Initiative goals versus allowing an additional for-hire vehicle on City streets. In this regard, American Lease’s huge Fisker bet will be something the TLC will be happy to see, despite previously implying such rental companies were “predatory”.
Some Thoughts
We hope the regulator will reflect on its previous use of defamatory language and attempt to partner with rental companies, such as American Lease, that might be better placed than individual drivers to advance noble emission goals. For example, currently it is either impossible or prohibitively expensive (i.e., $5,000 deductible policy) to purchase comprehensive & collision insurance for many EVs used in the NYC TLC market.
Many individual drivers and even small TLC fleets simply cannot afford the cost of owning, including insuring, an EV that’s commercially used in NYC. In fact, we fear many drivers will face future financial hardships from long term, high-interest rate loans they took out to buy EVs late last year (i.e., many don’t have full coverage insurance, accelerated depreciation, lack of third party service network).
To be clear, in our opinion, many TLC drivers bought EVs late last year because the regulator directly incentivized these drivers to do so. The TLC carelessly, without public hearing, fully reinstated the EV exemption to the FHV License Pause in October 2023. This mistake, also related to current driver “lockouts” and the taxi medallion market, cannot be repeated during the next annual FHV License Review that is set to be published in late February or early March 2025 (6 months from now).
Of note, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) lawsuit against the TLC, related to the release of ~10,000 EV-restricted FHV Licenses, might be concluding in the coming weeks (we will keep our readers posted).
Our broader point is individual drivers shouldn’t be the human “guinea pigs” of the Green Rides Initiative, rather large rental companies, with significant financial resources and operations, like American Lease, Tower and Voyager Global Mobility (VGM)-owned Buggy & Fast Track, should be engaged by the TLC to drive EV adoption in NYC. Yes, we understand, it’s a classic chicken and egg problem. However, quite clearly, large fleets are better placed to drive EV adoption vs. individual drivers.
That all being said, Hertz’s very recent experience trying to adopt EVs must also be considered by the regulator. For individuals who have never run or started a business, we’re not saying that in a derogatory manner, we’re simply stating facts, everything might genuinely look promising and easy on paper or a spreadsheet. The street reality, let alone the NYC taxi reality, is often very different.
The TLC needs to speak with NYC fleet operators and insurance companies much more than they currently are to truly understand how EV adoption is going to happen in NYC. ConEdison definitely knows a lot about the electric grid, they know nothing about managing an Uber or taxi fleet.
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When Revel announced charging infrastructure investments and openings (note: we think that investment is great for the City), the TLC Chair and Mayor attended (no issue with that) ribbon cutting ceremonies. However, when American Lease buys over 3,000 (!!!) all-electric Fisker Oceans they get a Tweet? What do you think drivers and others will conclude about what’s going on? 🤷
We say all the above with respect and we understand the regulator has to balance the demands of many different parties. Our opinions won’t always become law, we understand that. However, the TLC must understand being criticized is not a political attack, it often reflects public sentiments.
American lease steels from drivers 5000X2000= $10M every month.
How: because of moratorium on plates for drivers, drivers are forced to drive rental cars and lose $2000 to brokers every month.
This is how drivers are poor despite working long hours and brokers are rich without working.
These brokers are able to perpetuate this crime against drivers with the help of TLC And NYTWA Is also partner in crime.