Hertz orders 100,000 Teslas in largest-ever order for the electric car manufacturer

<span>Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters</span>
Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

Hertz, the global rental car company, has ordered 100,000 Tesla vehicles in a deal worth $4.2bn to the leading electric vehicle manufacturer that represents the first effort by the rental giants to electrify their fleets.

The Tesla Model 3 sedans will be delivered over the next 14 months, and will be available to rent from Hertz in the US and parts of Europe from next month, the rental company said in a statement.

The company said customers would be able to access Teslas 3,000 proprietary charging locations and would develop its own charging infrastructure across the company’s global operations.

In a video release featuring Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and Florida Panthers quarterback, Hertz, which is four months out of bankruptcy, highlighted its investment in electric vehicles.

“Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest,” said Hertz interim CEO Mark Fields.

“The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and a commitment to grow our EV fleet and provide the best rental and recharging experience for leisure and business customers around the world.”

In his own remarks, Brady said that he’d been driving an EV for years. Hertz’s electric fleet, he added, “speaks to how the world is changing and the way companies are approaching being environmentally and socially conscious”.

Hertz’s investment comes as approximately 40% of US consumers say they are likely to consider an electric vehicle when they shop for a new one. Over the summer, Detroit’s big three automakers announced that they aspire to have 40% to 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030 be electric models.

Under the plan, Hertz aims for more than 20% of its global fleet to be electric by the end of 2023. But it warned that outside factors, such as semiconductor chip shortages, could affect that target.

The deal represents the largest single order Tesla has received and is equivalent to about one-tenth of what the EV company can produce in a year. According to Bloomberg, Tesla is offering the vehicles without big discounts that rental companies typically receive.

But the rebound in travel combined with manufacturing supply-chain problems, has led to a shortage of new cars.

Electrification is a bold step for Hertz, which sold off its fleet when the demand for rental cars collapsed in early 2020 and went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company re-emerged in June under new ownership, Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management.

“While Hertz is in the early stages of electrifying its rental car fleet, Tesla getting an order of this magnitude highlights the broader EV adoption underway in our opinion as part of this oncoming green tidal wave now hitting the US,” noted Wedbush securities in a note to investors.

“This Hertz deal is a ‘major feather in the cap’ for Tesla and speaks to where demand is heading in the EV transformation hitting the auto sector globally,” it added.