hertz

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Hertz’s Troubled EV Rollout: Ride-Share Drivers Bear the Brunt

Hertz is selling its EVs because it botched the rollout for ride-share drivers It's a precautionary tale for how to assess new markets — and how not to introduce a new product. Hertz made a splash in 2021 when it announced that it would buy 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans in a little over a year. Hertz said in an SEC filing that it would be selling 20,000 of its EVs and replacing them with fossil fuel-powered vehicles. After Hertz started buying EVs, it directed most of them to Uber drivers. Uber drivers also rented the cars for longer periods of time, Hertz said, meaning that fewer employees were needed to support a given number of vehicles.

Zara Khan
January 12, 2024

Enterprise, Transportation

Hertz Replaces 20,000 EVs with Gas Cars for Sale

Hertz is selling off a third of its electric vehicle fleet, which is predominantly made up of Teslas, and will buy gas cars with some of the money it makes from the sales. Hertz’s move to slash its EV fleet comes as electric vehicle sales growth has cooled from record highs. Just two years ago, Hertz announced plans to buy 100,000 EVs from Tesla by the end of 2022. Instead, as of October 2023, Hertz had only purchased 35,000 Teslas and its entire electric fleet included about 50,000 EVs total. It announced plans in 2022 to buy up to 175,000 EVs from General Motors, and another 65,000 from Polestar.