General Motors to deliver 175,000 EVs to car rental service Hertz by end of 2027

General Motors (GM) has announced the signing of an agreement with Hertz, in which the American automotive giant agreed to supply up to 175,000 EVs to the car rental service by end of 2027.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hertz will buy EVs from various brands of GM, including the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and BrightDrop. The supplies will start with the all-electric Bolt EV and EUV in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.

Hertz said it decided to buy EVs from the aforementioned brands as part of its larger plan to expand the reach of EVs among customers. It is perhaps the car rental company’s broadest deal as it involves a wide range of vehicle categories, ranging from compact and midsize SUVs to large pickups, and from luxury vehicles to delivery vans. The deal will help the rental car company in increasing the share of environment-friendly EVs in its fleet, while GM will be encouraged to boost production of its EVs.

By 2027, as per Hertz’s preliminary estimates, customers would likely cover more than 8 billion miles in these EVs, which would cut carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions by approximately 3.5 million metric tons.

GM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra said described the newly-signed agreement as a “huge step” in the direction of CO2 reduction and EV adoption as it will lead to create thousands of new electric car customers for the brand.

Speaking on the topic, Barra explained, “With the vehicle choice, technology and driving range we’re delivering, I’m confident that each rental experience will further increase purchase consideration for our products and drive growth for our company.”

For his part, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said in a statement that his company was excited and thrilled to team up with the Detroit-headquartered automotive giant on this initiative, as it would help the company in dramatically expanding its EV offering to customers, in areas ranging from leisure to business travel.

The first EVs to be delivered by GM to Hertz are the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, with supplies of these vehicles scheduled to start sometime in the Q1 of 2023. Production and deliveries will be increased between 2023 and 2025, driven by the opening of Ultium Cells plants in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Thousands of Hertz electric rental cars are already available at 500 locations across 38 states of the US. For the near-term future, the rental service has set a goal to turn at least 25 per cent of its fleet electric by the end of 2024.