Rental giant in EVs sell-off

Hertz Global Holdings has announced it is selling about 20,000 electric vehicles (EVs) and will use some of the money raised to purchase more petrol-powered cars.

The sell-off affects about one-third of the rental company’s electric fleet, which is mostly made up of Teslas.

Bosses say the decision has been taken because EVs incur higher repair costs and depreciate faster than other models.

Stephen Scherr, chief executive, says: “Collision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle.” 

Hertz expects to suffer a loss of about US$245 million from the sale due to the depreciation of zero-emitters. Its used cars website currently has hundreds of EVs on sale, including BMW’s i3, Chevrolet’s Bolt and Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y SUVs, reports Reuters.

The company adds it will now focus on improving profitability for the rest of its EVs, which make up about 11 per cent of its total fleet.