As General Motors moves to reduce its rental car agency sales, Tesla just inked a deal with Hertz, with the latter placing an order for 100,000 new Tesla vehicles.
Starting in November, Hertz customers will be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 sedan at airport and neighborhood locations in the U.S. and throughout Europe. What’s more, those customers that opt for a Tesla Model 3 as their rental vehicle will have access to more than 3,000 Tesla-branded supercharger stations.
Hertz says that it is the first U.S. car rental company to introduce electric vehicles to its fleet, first adding EVs in 2011. The rental company also says it was the first to implement a wireless charging system for electric vehicles.
With this new order of 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans, Hertz says that EVs will comprise over 20 percent of its available global fleet, with support for both Level 2 and DC quick-charging stations in roughly 65 markets by the end of the 2022 calendar year, expanding to 100 markets by the end of 2023. As the rental company points out, external factors like the ongoing global microchip shortage may affect these timelines.
Hertz says that the new EV order coincides with expanded interest in the all-electric segment, which is powered by the high-efficiency, positive user experience, and climate change benefits offered by all-electric propulsion systems. Lower maintenance costs and fuel costs are also a major factor.
The new EV adoption coincides with a fresh Hertz ad campaign, which will feature seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. The new campaign includes two new ads featuring Brady renting, recharging, and using an all-electric vehicle at a Hertz airport location.
Additionally, Hertz is offering a premium and differentiated rental experience for electric vehicle customers, such as an expedited rental process via the Hertz mobile app.
Meanwhile, General Motors has pledged to launch 30 new electric vehicle models globally by 2025, investing billions into all-electric vehicle technology and autonomous vehicle technology.
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Comments
This is a big step for Team EV, and makes a loud statement to the naysayers.
This is a big move for Hertz rental hopefully it pays off and put them back in the black, it’s a good move for Tesla as well
I’m sure those who run out of juice will not be too happy a customer. Hope Hertz has a fleet if tow trucks at their disposal.
@Tigger
How many times have you ever in your life run out of Gasoline?
Why would you be concerned with people running out of juice?
The Car basically tells you when and where to charge….it is almost Stupid Proof!!!
Once. Ironically I was trading in the worst car I ever owned. The gauge measured 1/8 tank but ran dry one half mile from the dealership. Darn thing gave me issues literally to the last second I owned it. However, I was able to get a few gallons of gas to get me going. If it were an EV, the vehicle would have to be towed.
@Tigger
I agree that if you run out of Gasoline it is much easier to grab some liquid and poor it in.
But it is almost impossible to run out of juice in a Tesla. I am sure some playing games trying to outsmart the Computer have run out Lol
The car literally screams at you to get your A** to a Super Charger and directs you where it is. That is the main reason why most EV Customers chose a Tesla….their Super Charger Network is huge and they said by 24 months it will be at least three times bigger. Not sure how Legacy Automakers can compete with that. EVgo, Charge Point, and EA are just not on par yet. It is my biggest worry about GM’s shift.
If I was Legacy Automakers I would get together and start a Charging Network that they all pay into. This will have a chance to catch up to Tesla. But none of them want to get involved with Charging. Makes zero sense. I could be wrong and EVgo, Charge Point, and EA actually come through and make a great Nation Wide Charging Network. We shall see what the Future holds.
the biggest step for team ev was when countries started to set a date that would outlaw all ICE vehicles.
Which will probably be lifted considering the issues Europe is now having with generating enough electricity even as the fleet is mostly ICE vehicles.
I don’t think you understand Europe. When they have a problem, they solve it; not take two steps back.
Like when VW and more used the cheat to make their diesel engines meet emission standards? Hooray for Europe.
Yep absolutely, thinking 2 world wars – couldn’t save themselves
The biggest step was when the companies stopped resisting and started to invest billions. The battle was over at this point.
Hertz ordered the Tesla’s instead of bolts because they don’t want there business to go up in flames again.
The ordered Teslas because their customers are asking for Tesla’s and Tesla is the only EV company in the USA that could fill an order that large in a year.
It was a joke. You didn’t catch it with the flames part?
Better hope that your destination had a place to recharge so you can get home again.
Most people picking up a car at the airport drive very few miles, but if they go further, the Tesla will tell them where to go recharge.
Or to call AAA for a tow…..
And if someone hacks into the web site it might just tell them WHERE TO GO! Lol
Good for Tesla. This takes me back in time however to when I was at the Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Honda store. At that time, GM was very heavy on rentals and the dealerships loved it when we could get as many “program cars” as we wanted. These were units that were retired from rental companies and somehow got the nick-name program cars. Anyhow, the huge debate back in the day and probably yet today is how badly do rental cars and fleet sales deteriorate the value of those cars? Does it de-value the brand? The salespeople loved it because it gave us very competitive priced late model cars to sell along side the brand new ones. In general, they were about 40% less than the new one and only 1 to 2 years old with 10,000 to 18,000 miles. Interestingly, Honda really didn’t do program cars and we always gave that as a reason why their resale value stayed higher.
As GM and others have been falling away from these types of sales, it will be interesting to see if/how this affects Tesla’s values.
Elon Musk stated on twitter Hertz paid full retail price for each and every Tesla they are buying.
Donavan
Would that be the $35,000 price Elon Musk promised the Model 3 would sell at, or the $42,000 price Tesla actual Madel 3 base price
@Donavan
Yes he did. Full Price. That is over a 4 Billion Dollar Commitment.
I think I sat in a program car. Used Impala in a dealership, exactly 40% cheaper, 1 year old, and 11,100 miles. That was 10 years ago. I wondered why it was selling for so little, now that makes sense.
If you knew how we treated rental cars, you would never buy one of those.
Haha, thankfully I never pulled the trigger on it.
Donavan: Good on both points you made. Even with the deals on them, I still purchased new ones except for one 1996 Buick Century. My wife just wrecked the 1994 Skylark and so we were in kind of a pinch to either keep the Skylark and have it fixed or take what was available at that moment. The Century was really clean and exact options/features she wanted, so I took advantage of the great buy on it.
Even though Hertz is paying full price for those cars, it’s really less about what the rental companies pay (or paid), and more about the perceived value and/or devaluation being a rental causes. I kind of took the position that a sale is a sale no matter who is buying it or for how much.
That seems like a good deal Dan. Only 10-18k miles and 1-2 years old +40% cheaper hell I would buy it.
GM program cars didn’t come from rental fleets, they were cars that GM superintendents and above were issued to drive for V6 months at a time and turned back in for a new one, part of their benefits package. Rental fleet cars were registered by the rental fleet. Program cars were never registered by the driver and were considered GM fleet cars.
gm sold the rental cars it bought back from rental companies, through gm auction outlets to its dealers. gm guaranteed the value of these cars to rental companies. The volume of these cars was huge in the 80s and 90s.
The reason these cars affected resale value is that stupidly gm was producing many more cars than the market would absorb. So to keep the plants running they sold them at a large discount to rental companies and foolishly guaranteed to buy them back at guaranteed price after a minimum of 90 days in service.. gm management wrongly figured it was cheaper this way than temporarily closing plants and having to pay UAW workers up to 90% of their wages to stay home.
Smart dealers sold these cars and a larger average profit than new cars. It really dinged resale value especially of the mid-sized cars gm put in this program in big numbers.
We shall see how Tesla and Hertz handle these vehicles from start to disposal. It could go either way. gm showed them how NOT to handle it.
It’s a win-win for both companies. Hertz gets free publicity and can charge a special rate for EVs (more $$$). Tesla gets to sell 100,000 cars and puts them in the hands of prospective buyers.
Its a win for EV’s in general, gets more people into EV’s, most will not go back to ICE
Today’s EVs are glorified golf carts. ⛳
Haha! ya, golf carts… Clearly another teenager that have never driven a Tesla, or even a Bolt. Maybe you can rent one so you know what you are talking about.
Why would anyone want to drive a bolt unless they wanna commit suicide? You must be a fan of burning to death.
Richard P,
I do agree the exposure is nice but there are a couple of potential pitfalls.
First off, they’ll be renting to many people with no EV experience. Lots of issues can arise. Everyone knows how to refuel a vehicle and what signs to look for when the tank is low. Most people won’t intuitively know how and where to recharge an EV. It’ll be new. For foreign travelers, it only adds to the stress of being in unfamiliar surroundings. Hertz will likely need to do more hand-holding when renting EVs. At least for a while.
Secondly, Tesla has a sort of luxury car status and allure now. A Tesla is unique and by virtue of what it is, has an element of status to it; only the cool kids drive ‘em. If they’re available at Hertz to anyone for a week, I think some of that is lost. I think we all know that Cadillac lost a ton of prestige when they started dumping Devilles into rental car fleets to keep the factories humming as retail demand was declining. If I were Elon, I’d be very cautious with Hertz. It’s a double-edged sword. His demographics are great now and he needs to keep the cachet for his brand. Rental fleets never add prestige to a brand.
You raise good points. Familiarity may breed contempt. It depends on whether people gravitate towards Tesla because they’re considered unique and exclusive. Speaking for myself, I’ve never driven an EV and would like to try at least one drive. Not going to happen any time soon, but the allure is there.
Tesla’s are very intuitive, when you need to charge you push the navigation button and the map populates with charging stations, Tesla Superchargers are more simple than a gas pump, just grab the plug and stick it in, done… No credit cars, no entering your zip code.
I think Hertz will include charging for free with the rental, and they will have charging stations at their parking areas to charge the cars when they return.
Tesla is not a luxury car and most owners know that. We have a Y, and the interior is not at all that of our Audi which is actually a luxury car in design and materials. Tesla’s are just really good transportation, and very intuitive. I see renters have minimal problem with learning curve. When I bought my first Tesla, or our Audi EV, I did not have any trouble.
You think, in reality you don’t know! If you use a commercial charger, it’s the same as a fuel pump except with fuel we are gone in 10 minutes and most like 400 to 500 miles before we would need to stop again – as far as pushing the nab button to find a charging station – Google and Apple navigation tell us where fuel station are- – so, really you got nothing !
And this is GM news how??
Industry news… So many EV naysayers on this site need to be awakened.
If companies are embracing EVs, then this relates to GM’s own EV push.
Because gm is government motors and the government is pushing ev. It’s not that difficult to figure out.
I wonder how they’ll handle those outrageous fees for not bringing it back “full”. Will an empty battery be treated the same?
I always thought those fuel charges were a big part of the rental companies profit model. They’re heaped on poor travelers who barely get to the airport in time to make their flight and have no chance to refuel. The cost of renting the car might’ve been cheap but the fuel at the end, and the insurance, was where the company made money.
All you do is plug it in and wait, and wait in some unfamiliar area. Maybe get to know some homeless people, or get mugged or car jacked. It’s a great idea!
The Tesla will send you 15 miles off of your path to get to the charger then drive the 15 miles back to get on track. 30 miles wasted. Check out the you tube kids that drove from Austin Texas to Chicago in a model 3. The trip from hell.
Hertz said that they might double their order after they see how this Program goes.
I see the Tesla trolls are alive and well here. Misinformation and fear mongering seems to be the best they can muster but once someone gets into a Tesla and experiences the technology and fun factor it’s game over for all the misinformation being trolled out.
Technology, like what , movies, games a fart machine! Navigation? Except for the fart machine_ ICE vehicles have had these types of options for years- remote start, heated washers , heated mirrors, heated steering wheel- yeah, ICE has them and more- Tesla’s ride hard and interior noise is also high – – so peddle your TESLA crap somewhere else
We have 2 ICE vehicles and a Tesla. We enjoy all of them but Tesla has shown us the future and we are one with EVs.