The next time you pick up your rental car at an airport, it could be an electric one. Hertz – one of the largest car rental companies in the world – has just placed a mega order with Tesla. The company is spending about $4.2 billion on 100,000 electric cars, which will be delivered by Tesla over the next 14 months.
Hertz went bankrupt in May 2020 as a result of the global corona crisis and only made a restart four months ago. One of the first steps the company is taking is to electrify its rental fleet. The purchase of 100,000 Teslas is the largest electric car order ever placed. Tesla will ship the cars – especially Model 3s – over the next 14 months. The first units will be available to rent from Hertz in North America and Europe from November.
Hertz will eventually replace its entire rental fleet
The Hertz-Tesla agreement has not yet been officially announced. Bloomberg news agency relies on sources with knowledge of the deal. Hertz has a worldwide fleet of 500,000 cars, all of which will eventually be replaced by electric models. Hertz customers will soon be able to use the Tesla Supercharger network, but also the charging infrastructure that Hertz will set up itself.
Hertz mows the grass at the feet of the competition
It is striking that Hertz receives little or no discount from Tesla and simply pays the full price for the 100,000 Teslas. The order covers about a fifth of Tesla’s annual production, with which Hertz also immediately mows the grass at the feet of the competition. Tesla will not have the capacity to make cars for Avis, Europcar and Sixt in the near future.