Steve Liborio was caught off guard by a sudden increase in interest in electric vehicle rentals, several years after the car rental industry’s foray into EVs failed to get the traction it had hoped for.

Since Liborio doesn’t carry EVs at his Thrifty Car Rental franchise in Burlington, Ont., the pressure shifted to his small but mighty fleet of hybrids to keep up with consumer demand, he said.

“People don’t usually call and ask for a hybrid,” he said. “It’s more the EVs.”

Customers tend to take him up on the offer of a hybrid, even though it costs $10 more per day, because they save more than that on gas money, he said.

As higher fuel prices strain traveller budgets this summer, some Canadians are looking to EVs to steer clear of gas stations. But with EV rental inventory tight, many won’t find what they’re looking for on the rental lot.

This fresh wave of interest in EVs comes after a spike in gas prices this year. That sits in contrast to what Liborio has seen in recent years: a continued preference for gas cars as drivers felt unsure about EV ranges, anxiety over finding the next charging station and spending hours charging it over the course of the trip.

Some companies sold off their EVs or shrank their fleet after they proved unprofitable amid weak consumer uptake and expensive maintenance, said Daniel Ross, director of strategic market insights at Canadian Black Book.

Car rental company Hertz walked back its decision to electrify some of its global fleet after it first looked to add EVs in 2021, liquidating a third of its global EV supply in 2024. It’s not clear how many EVs Hertz owns in its Canadian fleet.

Ross said EV rental inventory in Canada remains small and limited to cities that have the infrastructure.

It’s further complicated by fluctuations in the auto market that are finally resolving after a pandemic-era shortage created supply chain bottlenecks. Most rental companies wanted to acquire any car they could get and the majority of the supply was gas-powered.

It’s unlikely rental companies will increase their EV offerings in light of the recent demand because it’s not meaningful enough to move the needle for them, Ross said.

But interest in EVs at dealerships has gone up. As the war in Iran drags on and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut — blocking a fifth of the world’s oil supply and keeping global oil prices elevated — more Canadians are once again finding EVs desirable.

The renewed interest also comes as the federal government reintroduced its EV rebates in February, helping offset some of the costs.