Hertz to electrify its fleet with 100,000 Teslas starting next month

[Shawn Knight]

Bottom line: American car rental company Hertz has ordered 100,000 Tesla vehicles in an effort to build the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world. The deal also makes it easier for prospective EV buyers to get some seat time in a Model 3 before committing to a purchase or lease.

From early November, customers will be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 at Hertz neighborhood and airport locations in major US markets and select cities in Europe. The company said it will also be installing thousands of chargers across its network, ensuring that customers who rent an EV will have access to 3,000 Tesla supercharging stations across the US and Europe.

Hertz interim CEO Mark Fields said electric vehicles are now mainstream, adding that we've only just begun to see rising global demand and interest.

"The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and a commitment to grow our EV fleet and provide the best rental and recharging experience for leisure and business customers around the world," Fields said.

Once the order is complete by the end of 2022, EVs will account for more than 20 percent of Hertz's global fleet.

According to Bloomberg, the deal is the single largest order ever for electric vehicles and is worth approximately $4.2 billion.

The deal comes at an interesting time for Hertz, which just emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1. The rental car company filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020, citing a decline in revenue and a bleak forecast due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tesla's stock is up more than seven percent on the news as of this writing while Hertz is trading up more than six percent.

Image credit Vlad Tchompalov, Roberto Nickson

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91916-hertz-electrify-fleet-100000-teslas-starting-next-month.html

 

[brucek]

I would have thought that rental fleets would be one of the very last adopters. A buyer can ensure they have a charging station in their garage, will be motivated to learn the available chargers in their area, and will become familiar with the planning needed to accommodate much longer battery charge times compared to a quick visit to the gas station.

Many renters will have none of these things going for them, with problems for both them and the rental car company seeming likely?

Then there's charging at the rental car lot. A single gas pump can fuel a dozen plus vehicles per hour. That won't be true for chargers, which is a problem both for needing a lot of chargers, and for the much longer turnaround time between customers. Cars are received and dispensed mostly during the day, making overnight charging inefficient.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I would have thought that rental fleets would be one of the very last adopters. A buyer can ensure they have a charging station in their garage, will be motivated to learn the available chargers in their area, and will become familiar with the planning needed to accommodate much longer battery charge times compared to a quick visit to the gas station.

Many renters will have none of these things going for them, with problems for both them and the rental car company seeming likely?

Then there's charging at the rental car lot. A single gas pump can fuel a dozen plus vehicles per hour. That won't be true for chargers, which is a problem both for needing a lot of chargers, and for the much longer turnaround time between customers. Cars are received and dispensed mostly during the day, making overnight charging inefficient.

It's a better situation than it may seem. Typically when people rent a vehicle, it's because they're traveling and may stay at hotels. A lot of hotels actually having charging infrastructure to attract customers. Along with car dealerships, they're one of the most common places to find charging stations. And along with the supercharging network, Tesla has over 4500 slow chargers throughout North America with a majority of them located at hotels. Plus when you rent a car, it's a planned trip so I'm assuming someone choosing to rent an electric vehicle would only do so by incorporating charging it into the rest of their plans.

 

[wiyosaya]

It's a better situation than it may seem. Typically when people rent a vehicle, it's because they're traveling and may stay at hotels. A lot of hotels actually having charging infrastructure to attract customers. Along with car dealerships, they're one of the most common places to find charging stations. And along with the supercharging network, Tesla has over 4500 slow chargers throughout North America with a majority of them located at hotels. Plus when you rent a car, it's a planned trip so I'm assuming someone choosing to rent an electric vehicle would only do so by incorporating charging it into the rest of their plans.

In other words, if you do rent one, just make sure that any destinations are within the range of the vehicle - or - there's a supercharging station near by for that quick fillup.

 

[whateversa]

This surprises me. Another business tried this with less than 20 Tesla's and he had endless problems with bad quality (which Tesla is well known for) and ridiculous waiting times to repair factory faults. I would stick with other brands if I go electric.