This morning, Hertz acknowledged their new focus on Electric Vehicles with a reported purchase of 100,000 Tesla Model 3s. Deliveries are expected to start next month (November 2021) and continue over the next 14 months. Their site notes that this is just beginning- they will soon introduce Ford’s EVs as well.
With this purchase, Hertz has now updated their site to feature the popular electric sedan as the background for the homepage, and changed the featured text on the page to read “Lower emissions, not standards”. The purchase, estimated at $4.2B, is the largest purchase on electric vehicles ever. The site reads “As part of our dedication to personalized service and seamless travel, we now offer the largest electric vehicle (EV) rental fleet in North America. Our huge selection [includes] models from Tesla, Ford and more available”. They’ve also updated both their support pages and the Hertz Blog to include information on how EVs work, instructional guides about how to operate the vehicle, and FAQs to help explain the difference between driving an ICE vehicle and driving electric.
Hertz has also announced that vehicle pickups between Nov. 1, 2021 and Jan. 31, 2022 will include free charging at Tesla chargers. This should provide some peace of mind for hesitant first-time EV drivers.
With the announcement this morning, Hertz released a series of 4 new ads featuring Tom Brady and the Model 3. The videos depict a Hertz lot with an abundance of Model 3 Standard Range Plus vehicles charging at a group of Hertz-branded Tesla Wall Connectors.
This purchase, the largest ever EV purchase ever, shows a clear shift in the industry. It just makes sense, really- EVs have next to zero maintenance requirements, keeping vehicles from being taken out of service and enabling quick turnarounds to the next renter. It’s a shift that has been expected in the industry for some time, though the sheer size of this purchase and subsequent shift in their advertising strategy was a bit of a shock to most.
