Hertz offering customers to keep cars as it unplugs EVs from rental fleet

Rental car giant Hertz has made it clear that it wants less electric vehicles (EVs) in its US fleet, and it’s adopted an uncommon tactic to try and thin its stock.

In January, Hertz announced it would sell 20,000 EVs from its US fleet due to rising depreciation and repair costs and later asked Polestar to waive its EV supply contract – a request which the carmaker agreed to providing certain conditions were met.

However, almost a year down the track, the rental car firm is reportedly taking to offering people currently renting its EVs to buy them directly, rather than list them for sale online.

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On social media platform Reddit, a user of the r/HertzRentals subreddit claims they were renting a Tesla Model 3 when they were offered to buy the electric sedan from the company, with a quoted price of US$17,913 (A$28,727).

According to the user, the 2023-build vehicle has less than 30,000 miles (48,000km) on its odometer.

Another commenter on the post claimed they had recently rented a Polestar 2 and was offered to buy it for US$28,500 (A$45,700).

It appears the offer isn’t limited to EVs, with one user saying they’d received an email with an offer to buy a Ford Mustang EcoBoost with 7000 miles (11,295km) for US$31,000 (A$49,700).

Previous reports have pointed to Hertz being vulnerable to market conditions as it purchases the cars on its fleet outright, rather than the more traditional practice of having an option to sell its vehicles back to manufacturers for a set price.

Former Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr stepped down from the role after just 26 months at the helm earlier this year. He had inherited the firm’s plans to bolster its US fleet with at least 25 per cent EVs by 2025, which had been set in motion with the order of 100,000 Teslas.

This order was made at the list price of the cars, not at a discounted rate, as is common between rental companies and carmakers.

In Australia, the Polestar 2 is the only EV available to rent through Hertz.

Across the past year, Hertz’s NASDAQ share price has fallen by 67 per cent to just US$3.42 per share, one-tenth of its record high in November 2021.

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