Hertz to Sell 20,000 EVs in Shift Back to Gas

'Hertz Global Holdings Inc. plans to sell a third of its US electric vehicle fleet and reinvest in gas-powered cars due to weak demand and high repair costs for its battery-powered options.

The sales of 20,000 EVs began last month and will continue over the course of 2024, the rental giant said Thursday in a regulatory filing. Hertz will record a non-cash charge in its fourth-quarter results of about $245 million related to incremental net depreciation expense.'

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/202...00-evs-in-shift-back-to-gas-powered-cars


Another quote: "One "futurist" EV report claimed that EV dominance would be led by mass EV adoption by fleet operators (like Hertz). Our 2017 report argued the opposite. EVs - with their higher MSRPs, lower range, long refueling times (even on a supercharger), expensive-to-replace batteries - were actually LEAST attractive for fleet.
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Hertz proved us wrong for a moment, by buying almost 100,000 EVs in 2021... until 2024, when they admitted their $600mm mistake."

I deal with them every day. It's a very poorly run company.

Aren't they the ones that were having their customers arrested for 'stealing' their cars?

Could be a good deal for people who want to pick up a slightly used EV. I'm not surprised that Hertz had trouble renting EVs. Most people are unfamiliar with them and EVs have some strict limitations on their use. Rental cars often get driven to hotels and most hotels do not have chargers available so the whole idea seems flawed. I wouldn't want to drive an EV in an unfamiliar city without have a bullet proof charging plan.

Plus a lot of rentals are for vacationers and long trips, neither of which you'd want to have to worry about how far you can go and looking for charging stations.

Full disclosure, I'm not a fan of EVs.

Anyone looking at a used EV should also be looking at buying the extended warranty from the manufacturer. If that isn't possible because it's a former rental unit, I would walk away.

My wife processes buy-backs for multiple auto maufacturers. The buy-back rate (including both MFR-initiated and lemon-law) is a noticeably higher percentage than for petroleum powered vehicles when accounting for the sales numbers...

After several weather delays I arrived at a Hertz counter in Houston (Bush International) just as they closed for the night earlier this week. There were 35-40 people in a line. I am Presidents Choice and can usually go pick any car, but the Hertz worker said they were assigning cars. As I was getting close to my car they started bringing out the EVs. I have no chargers at our construction site nor the hotel nearby that I stay at. I had to decline as they had stacked up the EVs. Everyone behind me was waiting for a gas car. I think maybe two or three took the EVs. After a few minutes, the worker brought out a Yukon Denali for me. I took it and ran. Not sure how many people didn't get cars that night.

Great way to spend a vacation. At a charger.

My wife works with some people that added two extra overnights on a trip so they could take an ev. We make the same trip in my gas guzzler on one or no stops one way. It takes less than three minutes to fill the 28 gallon tank since pumps flow 10 gpm, maybe add a minute for the card.

$600,000,000 loss.

All these vast combined losses would have been profitably applied to building up the electrical distribution system.

The distribution system must be improved to feed all the “super chargers.”

Rookie mistakes by people who never have done even simple construction projects.

It makes General Leslie Groves building of the Pentagon so quick, then the Manhattan Project A-Bomb even more impressive,
and also Henry Kaiser’s Liberty Ships and Escort Aircraft Carriers.

“Greenie” is now proudly used by those “Saving the Earth”
but greenie also was used to describe very inexperienced and therefore unskilled people.

The Dodge Main plant in the Michigan winter months was as impressive as anything. Like 1917 or so.

“Only” a $130,000,000 or so loss, estimates Wall Street Journal reporters.

Hertz keeping 80% of their EV’s

Hertz signed up to buy iffy EV designs from GM and Swedish EV maker Polestar,
in addition to buying high priced Teslas bought prior to Tesla’s later 20% price cuts.

I went and looked at their used EV's for sale, pass. 70k+ miles makes me think battery replacement coming up sometime in the near future, plus the asking price? No thanks.

Seems like the mileage they're selling them at is about what rental companies dump cars at anyway.

People and companies buy EVs and then are disappointed at the realities of battery powered vehicles. They should have known in advance that saving the planet comes with great sacrifice and spending/losing lots of $$.

That, along with another huge segment of rentals is accident claim repairs, and most people who don't have EVs don't want an EV rental for the same reason as the vacationers/long trip takers.

Makes me wonder, do you have to bring it back charged?
May sound like a stupid question, but I always use Budget when going through BWI.
Budget moved from onsite at airport to offsite, 15min shuttle ride to get there.
They obviously did it to save money, the site is TINY with 1/2 the cars. Every time I pick up, there is a 30min wait for returned cars to come in and be processed. Company mandated, or I'd go elsewhere.
So I couldn't imagine my 30 min wait is over 1hr or more while they charge it.

Why yes, yes they are.

They actually reported theft claims to us in some of those situations. Utter incompetence.

Lehto has a bunch of stories about Hertz.

Like billing 21k miles in a 3 day rental.

Selling cars and reporting them stolen.

Seeing more Rivian EV pickups.

Is one of the rental companies renting Rivian?