Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.
For a top-tier rental company like Hertz, it’s not enough just to offer electric vehicles as part of the fleet. In Denver, the company is rolling out a public-private partnership initiative with Mayor Michael Hancock called Hertz Electrifies that aims to pave the way for EVs with charging infrastructure, job training, and stakeholder buy-in.
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Hertz is investing in the largest North American EV rental fleet, says CEO Stephen Scherr, and to get the word out it needs to partner with American cities, “where innovation is happening.” He praised Denver as a “center of sustainability,” which made it ideal for kicking off the program.
A spokesperson for Mayor Hancock said, “Denver residents and businesses are adopting EVs, but not yet at the rates that will meet Denver’s EV and climate action goals. Since 2019, it’s been the city’s standard practice when replacing its city fleet vehicles to purchase EVs where feasible; and new building codes require charging opportunities at multi-family units and workplaces. We also require income-qualifying public housing to include EV-ready construction.”
The program has specific targets in Denver. It will:
- Put 5,200 rental EVs on the streets, and make them available to both Hertz customers and rideshare drivers, who will be able to work with flexible contracts. The fleet will include vehicles from Tesla, Polestar and General Motors;
- Install chargers (a mix of Level 2 and DC fast chargers) at the Denver International Airport, and at other Hertz locations in the city;
- Work with bp pulse, a branch of the major oil company that is active in 17 states, on programs to provide EV fleet solutions and “de-risk” the process. According to Dave Lawler, a Denver native who is bp America’s chairman, “This is integrated energy in action. bp is transitioning for a lower carbon future, and our partnership with Hertz to roll out gigahub charging in the U.S. will help the world do the same. Dynamic urban centers like Denver are a priority focus.”;
- Provide summer jobs through the Denver Youth Employment Program, as well as assistance to the auto certificate training program at Montebello Career and Technical High School.
- Help city planners working on electrification with telematics from its fleet of connected cars.
Hertz Global Holdings
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Renting cars in the West is a $100 billion business ($56 billion in the U.S.). According to Reuters, the transition to electric could see Asian automakers, including those from China, taking a bigger role from the European and American makes that now dominate the rental business. Olivier Baldassari, an executive at Europcar, told the news service, “Historically, European and American manufacturers had an edge, but the shift towards electric is reshuffling the cards.”
The American rental car companies buy about a tenth of the new cars and trucks sold in the U.S., and increasingly they’re looking at EVs. After Hertz Global Holdings emerged from bankruptcy (in 2021), it said it would buy 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022. Hertz has said that EVs will account for more than 30% of its rental fleet by the end of 2024. Both Enterprise Holdings and Avis Budget Group, Hertz’ biggest rivals, have also made big investments in EVs.
In 2013, Enterprise began participating in the Drive Electric Orlando (DEO) Rental Pilot with the Washington-based Electrification Coalition, an advocacy group. The U.S. Department of Energy has also been a partner. Part of the goal was to get EV renters to consider using an electric car as a daily driver. According to the Drive Electric Orlando final report, “Forty-two percent of renters said their DEO experience ‘significantly influenced’ their considerations related to future vehicle purchases; another 25% said their DEO experience had ‘some influence.’
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