Hertz is feeling the squeeze of its plans to juice its electrical vehicle fleet to the tune of USD$245 million.Faster than OJ sprined through an airport those many years ago, the US car rental giant said on Thursday it plans to sell off its global fleet of 20,000 EVs and replace them with good old gas-powered internal combustion models.In a regulatory filing, the company citied weak consumer demand as well as higher expenses related to collision and damage associated with electric cars. The company expects to take a quarter billion dollar charge related to incremental depreciation expense."Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter, thereby supporting the company's decision to initiate the material reduction in the EV fleet," Hertz said..“The company expects to reinvest a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand. The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.”In October, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said the company would scale back plans to electrify 25% of its fleet by the end of 2024. To that end, it had orders for 100,000 Teslas worth $4.2 billion and 65,000 EVs by Swedish automaker Polestar.To the end of the third quarter, the company had about 60,000 EVs in inventory.Hertz's used car website lists more than 700 EVs for sale, including the BMW i3, Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y SUVs. Some of the vehicles were listed on Hertz’s website for as little as $17,700 before tax credits.
Hertz is feeling the squeeze of its plans to juice its electrical vehicle fleet to the tune of USD$245 million.Faster than OJ sprined through an airport those many years ago, the US car rental giant said on Thursday it plans to sell off its global fleet of 20,000 EVs and replace them with good old gas-powered internal combustion models.In a regulatory filing, the company citied weak consumer demand as well as higher expenses related to collision and damage associated with electric cars. The company expects to take a quarter billion dollar charge related to incremental depreciation expense."Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter, thereby supporting the company's decision to initiate the material reduction in the EV fleet," Hertz said..“The company expects to reinvest a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand. The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.”In October, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said the company would scale back plans to electrify 25% of its fleet by the end of 2024. To that end, it had orders for 100,000 Teslas worth $4.2 billion and 65,000 EVs by Swedish automaker Polestar.To the end of the third quarter, the company had about 60,000 EVs in inventory.Hertz's used car website lists more than 700 EVs for sale, including the BMW i3, Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y SUVs. Some of the vehicles were listed on Hertz’s website for as little as $17,700 before tax credits.
