ice-capades Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) Hertz Selling 20,000 EVs, Will Replace with Gas-Powered Vehicles The rental company cites higher expenses related to collision and damage for EVs https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/11/hertz-sells-electric-cars-tesla-polestar/ Hertz Global Holdings will sell about 20,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from its U.S. fleet, the rental firm said on Thursday, citing higher expenses related to collision and damage, and opt for gas-powered vehicles. Shares of the company, which operates EVs made by Tesla Inc and Swedish EV maker Polestar, fell as much as 9% in premarket trading. "Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter, thereby supporting the company's decision to initiate the material reduction in the EV fleet," Hertz said. Hertz expects to recognize about $245 million of incremental depreciation expenses from the proposed sale in the fourth quarter of 2023. Hertz said in April 2022 that it would buy up to 65,000 EVs over five years from Polestar, months after the rental car firm decided to order 100,000 Tesla vehicles by the end of 2022. The company's used car website has a variety of more than 700 EVs on sale, from BMW's i3 and Chevrolet's Bolt to Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y SUVs. Edited January 11 by ice-capades Additional Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 (edited) Hertz Selling 20,000 EVs From Fleet, To Reinvest in Gas-Powered Vehicles Rental car giant said the sales will continue over the course of 2024 https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/hertz-selling-20000-evs-from-fleet-to-reinvest-in-gas-powered-vehicles Rental car giant Hertz on Thursday said it will sell about 20,000 electric vehicles from its U.S. fleet. The offloading of the vehicles will cut the company's global EV fleet by one-third, Hertz said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs," the company said. Hertz said it expects the sale of the EVs to "take place in an orderly fashion over the course of 2024." It started offloading them late last year. The company said in October 2021 that it would acquire 100,000 Tesla's in a move to help build its EV fleet. Edited January 11 by ice-capades Additional Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 (edited) Hertz Ditches EV Plan Hatched by Former Ford CEO Fields https://fordauthority.com/2024/01/hertz-ditches-ev-plan-hatched-by-former-ford-ceo-fields/ Back in October 2021, rental car giant Hertz announced that former Ford CEO Mark Fields would be taking over as its interim CEO, and one of his first moves was to acquire 100,000 Tesla EVs and add them to the company’s fleet. At that time, this move was broadly celebrated – even praised by now-Ford CEO Jim Farley – and it was also part of a massive marketing effort led by former NFL great Tom Brady. However, it seems as if Hertz’s push toward electrification didn’t exactly go to plan, as the company is now selling off a third of its all-electric fleet and reinvesting in ICE models amid slow demand, according to Bloomberg. Hertz is selling off a total of 20,000 EVs through the course of 2024, and it expects to record a non-cash charge in its fourth-quarter results of $245 million related to incremental net depreciation expense as a result. Back in October, Hertz Chief Executive Stephen Scherr announced that the company planned to scale back on its EV ambitions after rentals for those models accounted for just 11 percent of its total, with Tesla models making up 80 percent of that mix. “The company expects to reinvest a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand,” Hertz said in a statement. “The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.” This move mimics that of several automakers over the past few months as demand for EVs has recently stalled out a bit, though sales continue to increase at a rapid rate. In fact, Ford recently announced that it was dialing back its own electric ambitions somewhat amid this weakened demand, downsizing a pair of under-construction EV battery production plants at the same time. Edited January 11 by ice-capades Additional Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Marketplace reality strikes again. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick73 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 IMO, rental cars face the additional challenge that BEVs are leading the way in electronics and automation, and it takes more time to become familiar with vehicle operation. I would not be surprised if this has partly lead to some of the mentioned accidents. As a frequent car renter, it’s annoying when you get in a car and have to screw around with basic adjustments that are not intuitive. Electric versus ICE in itself isn’t as bad for me, but driving like car is a video game is definitely a challenge. I’ve only driven my son’s Tesla (with help and personal instructions), but if I got one as a rental at an airport, I probably would have returned it. It’s simply too different; and I expect near impossible for many older renters in my opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I recently watched a YouTube video where someone drove over an object on the road that would have caused a minor amount of repairable damage on an ICE vehicle completely total out a Kia BEV. The object caused a small dent in the battery pack and battery replacement was so high the car was totalled. If these kinds of things become common and repair costs are much higher than comparable ICE vehicles insurance cost will skyrocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmpaul Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 First time I looked at a Tesla Model 3 was at a display in a mall. The steering wheel was uncomfortably low, so after unsuccesfully looking for a control or lever on side of steering column I asked a sales person for help. She didn't know how to adjust either. A second salesman pointed out the correct method, which involved going into a menu on touch screen, assigning the two dials on steering wheel to control the steering column adjust, then finally using those wheels to adjust the steering wheel (one moved it up/down, the second in/out). In a rental car this would be super annoying. Controlling everything through touch screen sounds cool but can also be non-intuitive and annoying. And this is from a guy who works in tech. Infotainment systems are biggest source of new car complaints on JD Power. I wonder how much of it is due to actual hardware issues, and how much is user frustration. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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