Hertz Global Holdings Inc. plans to buy as many as 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors Co. over the next five years, the latest major step by the rental giant to embrace plug-in cars.
The deal includes Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop vehicles spanning categories such as pickups and luxury vehicles, according to a statement Tuesday. Deliveries will begin with Chevrolet Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs in the first quarter of next year.
The agreement “will dramatically expand our EV offering to Hertz customers, including leisure and business travelers, rideshare drivers and corporates,” Hertz Chief Executive Officer Stephen Scherr said in the statement.
The pairing comes as the auto industry accelerates a shift toward production of more EVs, with GM making a bold pledge to fully electrify its line-up by 2035. Hertz stunned the car rental industry just over a year ago by announcing similar plans to purchase 100,000 vehicles from EV market leader Tesla Inc. The deal with GM is another sign of how the car industry is working to make EVs more mainstream and ultimately as common on rental car lots as gas-burning sedans and SUVs.
Hertz also revealed an agreement earlier this year to buy 65,000 vehicles from Polestar, the all-electric automaker controlled by Volvo Car AB and its owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
Hertz shares fell less than 1 per cent at 12:09 p.m. in New York, while GM declined 4.4 per cent.
Advertisement