NEWSLETTER
In 2021, the HERTZ rental giant (HTZ) He took a massive bet that would define an unfortunate part of his future.
To respond to the interest of the consumer and the growing adoption of electric vehicles, Hertz announced “a significant investment” in the EVs, including an initial order of 100,000 Tesla (Tsla) Vehicles and load infrastructure at the end of 2022.
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To make a great impact on his great commitment to EV, Hertz enlisted seven times Campal Marshal Company was “changing the game.”
“I have been driving an EV for years and knowing that Hertz is leading the way with his electric fleet talks about how the world is changing and the way companies approach to be environmental and socially awareness,” he said in a 2021 statement .
Even with Brady on the back, Hertz's immersion at the bottom of the electrical depth was a movement that turned out to be much more risky than expected, since he fought to address many problems that led him to sell much of his fleet and assume a massive loss.
Hertz finishes its sale of EV fires, absorbs a loss of $ 2.9b
When Hertz announced his purchase of 100,000 Teslas in October 2021, the value of vehicles was worth $ 4.2 billion at that time.
However, in 2025, numbers speak for themselves. During the earnings of the quarter quarter of Hertz 2024 published yesterday, he revealed a loss of $ 2.9 billion in 2024 due to his bet for EV. Only in the fourth quarter of 2024, adjusted profits before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) reflected a loss of $ 357 million.
“Reflecting on my first eight months in Hertz, 2024 was undoubtedly a challenging year for our company,” said the CEO of Hertz, Gil West, during his earning call. “We have taken the necessary measures to turn the page into the past and establish Hertz for continuous success.”
These actions included download their EV, most of which were Tesla vehicles. The company announced that it ended up selling 30,000 electric vehicles since its fleet, an initiative that began in 2023 and ended during the fourth quarter of 2024.
The financial director of Hertz, Scott Haralson, warned that the company can expect another quarter of the losses, since it eliminates more EV and other vehicles that experience a high depreciation of its fleet.
According to the CEO, the new strategy is to align the fleet with consumer preferences and lean more towards lower maintenance cars that do not depreciate. Currently, it shows that their vehicles lose around $ 422 of their depreciation value per month, per vehicle, in the fourth quarter of 2024; A 16% drop in the same period in 2023 but even higher than historical rates.
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Why did Hertz sell his EV?
Hertz began to download his EV in 2023 when Tesla began to aggressively reduce the prices of her popular models to compete better with the rest of the EV market.
Although this was good news for Tesla buyers, he harmed the used market, since the price of Tesla used fell aggressively. In addition, other automobile manufacturers competing against Tesla in the market also made price cuts for their EV in response, which only put the madness of excess depreciation.
The Business Model of Hertz and other car rental companies is based on its rental car fleets with its value. In addition to their rental service, car rental companies earn money selling their users used after reaching a certain mileage through their respective used car operations.
Related: Hertz to sell 20,000 EVS, buy vehicles with gasoline in the middle of the fall in the demand for rent
The rapid depreciation of the teslas used, mostly 3S model, accelerated beyond the point where Hertz saw them as practically useless much faster than they expected. Also, according to Market clockEVs were not popular options in rental desks, “given the limited network of cargo stations in the United States” and repair and maintenance costs were much higher than their traditional vehicles with gasoline.
“MSRP decreases in the EVs over 2023, mainly driven by Tesla, has promoted the fair market value of our lowest EV compared to last year, so that the rescue creates a greater loss and therefore, therefore, , a greater burden “, then CEO of Hertz Stephen Scherr said in his earning calls of the third quarter of 2023.
“On the basis of a unit, we achieved productivity profits in most cars categories. The exception remained in the costs of vehicle damage, particularly those of our EV.”
Related: Automobile manufacturers ask politicians to be easy with a hard EV policy
Despite Hertz's loss, EV EV sales are above
Despite HERTZ's liquidation of its EV, its changing fleet is not completely representative of the curious state of the electricity market.
According to the new Global Mobility S&P data, the new records of battery electric vehicles increased 25% in December 2024 as the buyers took advantage of the end of the year and fears on the fiscal credit of $ 7,500 that was eliminated during the Trump administration.
The EVs represented 9.9% of the total automotive market, a significant increase of year after year of 8.5% the same month in 2023. In 2024, EV records increased to 144,070 of 115,217 the previous year.
“There is so much discussion about how the EVs have slowed down, and they have done so, but they have certainly not stopped growing,” said the global M&P mobility analyst Tom Libby. “Electric vehicles are alive and kicking.”
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. quotes on the Nasdaq as (HTZ) .
Tesla, Inc. quote on the Nasdaq as (Tsla) .
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