Hertz to order up to 175K EVs from GM to meet EV fleet goals

The Hertz Corp. is planning to order up to 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors Co. over the next five years for its rental fleet, the companies said Tuesday.

Hertz will offer GM EVs across all brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and also BrightDrop, with first deliveries of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV expected in the first quarter of 2023.

The companies believe this move “is the largest expansion of EVs among fleet customers and the broadest” since it will include vehicles from multiple segments at varying price points.

The partnership with Hertz isn’t surprising and could be one of several involving GM. In May, the Detroit News reported GM was in talks with multiple rental car companies, including Hertz.

During GM CEO Mary Barra’s keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year in Las Vegas, Enterprise Holdings, a major rental car company with the brands Enterprise, Alamo and National, expressed interest in the Chevrolet Silverado EV, which will be available next year.

Hertz made a splash last fall when it announced it would offer “the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world” with an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles. The company hired former Michigan quarterback and NFL star Tom Brady to market the $4.2 billion deal.

Hertz already has tens of thousands of EVs available to rent at 500 Hertz locations in 38 states. Its goal is for 25% of the fleet to be electric by the end of 2024.

GM intends to increase deliveries to Hertz as it rapidly scales EV production between 2023 and 2025. The Detroit automaker plans to have annual production capacity of 1 million EVs in North America by 2025.