Hertz
In 2021, after the pandemic destroyed its business and forced it into bankruptcy, Hertz unveiled a bold new plan to add hundreds of thousands of new electric vehicles to its fleet. In October 2021, the rental car company announced it would add 100,000 Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys to its fleet by the end of 2022, the first of several EV purchase announcements.
But the company’s recently filed annual financial results show that it fell well short of its goal to have Teslas comprise 20 percent of its rental fleet by the end of 2022. Hertz’s North American fleet peaked at 428,700 vehicles in 2022, and while it added EVs to the mix, by year’s end Tesla only represented 9 percent of the overall fleet and 11 percent of the North American fleet, suggesting fewer than half of the 100,000 Model 3s have been delivered.
That said, a quick check on Hertz’s booking site shows plenty of Teslas available to rent here in Washington, DC, and Hertz says that it has EVs for rent at 500 locations in 38 states.
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Hertz might have fewer than half its Teslas, but there is still plenty of availability to rent them here in Washington, DC.
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There were no Polestar 2s for hire in DC, but you can reserve one from Los Angeles International Airport.
Hertz
While Hertz does not explicitly explain the Tesla delivery shortfall in the 10-K, it alludes to possible reasons when discussing risk factors to the business. These include an inability “to secure adequate vehicle supply within the time frame we, and our customers, expect,” though insufficient charging infrastructure may also play a role. Some have also speculated that Tesla’s price increases in 2022 may have affected the plan.
That said, the rental company is not giving up on its electrification effort; it has now set a goal that 25 percent of its rental fleet should be battery EVs by 2024. In addition to the Teslas, Hertz plans to purchase 65,000 Polestars, mostly Polestar 2 fastbacks, which are already rentable in some locations like Los Angeles.
And in September 2022, Hertz agreed to buy up to 175,000 EVs from General Motors over the next five years, beginning with the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV, deliveries of which should be occurring this quarter.