Hertz to buy 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors

General Motors will sell up to 175,000 electric vehicles to rental car company Hertz over the next five years, the two companies recently announced.

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Customers renting cars from Hertz will be able to select the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV starting in the first half of 2023, with the Blazer, Equinox, and other models to follow later. Once fully rolled out, GM aims to provide a variety in vehicles for Hertz, including compact cars and midsize SUVs to pickup trucks and luxury vehicles.

As noted by GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra:

"Our work with Hertz is a huge step forward for emissions reduction and EV adoption that will help create thousands of new EV customers for GM. 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."

Financial details of the partnership were not publicly disclosed, but the EVs will be sold closer to retail than discounted bulk sales.

Customers that currently have purchase reservations with GM will not be impacted, with the automaker dedicated to delivering vehicles on time. Meanwhile, GM intends to reach 1 million annual EV production capacity in North America and China by 2025, following industry-wide trends to transition away from traditional vehicles.

Due to the agreement, Hertz predicts over 8 billion miles will be driven by the GM EVs, and 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be saved compared to traditional gas vehicles.

Hertz has a clear strategy to bring more electric cars to its fleet, after agreeing with Tesla and the Volvo-backed Polestar startup. When requesting an Uber, it wasn't uncommon to see a Toyota Prius arrive to pick up passengers, as it's a fuel-efficient, affordable vehicle. The growing partnership, however, allows Uber drivers to rent Tesla Model 3 cars to use while driving for Uber, offering an economical option away from traditional gas models.

These forged deals are a major win for automakers, as supply chain problems continue to make them rethink business deals with rental car agencies that depend on low-profit, bulk sales.