Hertz, the global rental car company, and General Motors (GM), the US automobile giant, have announced a collaboration. The agreement will see Hertz ordering up to 175,000 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop electric vehicles (EVs) over the next five years.
Hertz and GM believe this plan is the largest expansion of EVs among fleet customers. It’s also one of the broadest spanning a wide range of vehicle categories and price points, from compact and midsize electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs) to pickups, luxury vehicles and more.
The agreement will encompass electric vehicle deliveries through 2027 as Hertz increases the EV component of its fleet and GM accelerates the production of EVs broadly.
Over this period, Hertz estimates that its customers could travel more than eight billion miles in these EVs. This will save approximately 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Stephen Scherr, Hertz CEO, said: “It’s exciting that two iconic American companies that have shaped the evolution of transportation for more than a century are coming together to redefine the future of mobility in the 21st century.
“We are thrilled to partner with GM on this initiative, which will dramatically expand our EV offering to Hertz customers, including leisure and business travellers, ride-share drivers and corporates.”
Hertz is investing to create the largest rental fleet of electric vehicles s in North America. It will offer tens of thousands of zero emissions vehicles available for rent at 500 Hertz locations across 38 states. The company’s current goal is for one-quarter of its fleet to be electric by the end of 2024.
Mary Barra, GM CEO, said: “Our work with Hertz is a huge step forward for emissions reduction and EV adoption that will help create thousands of new EV customers for GM.
“With the vehicle choice, technology and driving range we’re delivering, I’m confident that each rental experience will further increase purchase consideration for our products and drive growth for our company.”
Hertz expects to begin taking delivery of Chevrolet Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs in the first quarter of next year. GM deliveries to Hertz are projected to increase as GM rapidly scales its EV production between 2023 and 2025.
This has been driven by the opening of Ultium Cells battery cell plants in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. GM plans an annual production capacity of one million EVs in North America by 2025.
Earlier this year, Hertz announced it had seen widespread success with its electric vehicle offerings. The company offers a range of electric cars that are currently available in 16 cities across the country.
During Hertz’s Earnings Call for Q2 the company gave several updates on its fleet of Polestar and Tesla electric vehicles. Hertz ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in October 2021 and followed this soon after with an order of 65,000 Polestar 2 electric crossover cars. They have proved especially popular with Uber drivers.
While some customers might be reluctant to rent an electric vehicle initially, Hertz found that once rental clients make the jump to an electric car, they’re more likely to come back simply because they’re so easy to drive and all the other positive features. As a result, Hertz have seen repeat custom for their electric vehicles.
Another bonus Hertz have found with their electric fleet is that they are depreciating less than their combustion engine siblings. This, combined with lower running costs and less maintenance, makes them more economic to the company when it comes to selling them after their rental life. And the biggest bonus of all is that they are zero emissions throughout their life.
