General Motors to supply Hertz North America with 175,000 electric cars

US rental car giant Hertz has announced its zero-emissions fleet will be boosted with 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors over the next five years. 

From the first half of 2023, Chevrolet – a subsidiary of General Motors (GM) – will supply the North American arm of Hertz with its Bolt EV models.

Last year, the Chevrolet Bolt accounted for a majority of GM’s 25,000 electric car sales in the US – but the car giant has ambitions to produce one million zero-emissions vehicles by the end of 2025.

The Hertz deal will include vehicles made by GM’s Buick, Cadillac and GMC brands – all of which have plans to introduce new electric models within the next two years.

"Our work with Hertz is a huge step forward for emissions reduction and EV (electric vehicle) adoption that will help create thousands of new EV customers for GM," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a media statement. 

"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."

Hertz – which had declared bankruptcy in 2020 after racking up $US20 million ($AU30 million) in debt amid the COVID-19 pandemic – claimed a quarter of its North American fleet to be electric by the end of 2024.

In October 2021, Hertz announced it would place an order for 100,000 Tesla Model 3s across its North American and European fleets.

The rental car company was not given a fleet discount from Tesla, resulting in a deal worth roughly $US5 billion ($AU7.5 billion).

Less than one week later, Uber joined the partnership, with Hertz placing an order for an additional 50,000 Teslas.

In April this year, Chinese-owned electric car company Polestar announced it had signed a five-year deal with Hertz for 65,000 vehicles.

The global roll-out began this year with the Polestar 2 electric car, set to expand when further Polestar models are revealed in coming years.

"It's exciting that two iconic American companies that have shaped the evolution of transportation for more than a century are coming together to redefine the future of mobility in the 21st century," Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said in a media statement.

"We are thrilled to partner with GM on this initiative, which will dramatically expand our EV offering to Hertz customers, including leisure and business travellers, rideshare drivers and corporates."

Hertz isn’t the only company to rent electric vehicles in the US – established brands such as Avis, Europcar and Alamo offer rental cars including the Nissan Leaf, Kia Niro EV and Hyundai Kona Electric.

In Australia, Hertz’s electric car fleet includes the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2.

As previously reported, Hertz is one of many rental car companies which offers electric vehicles to customers in Australia.

In April 2021, Europcar Australia added the MG ZS EV to its fleet – the cheapest electric car locally at the time, with a drive-away price of $44,990.

Earlier this month, NRMA-owned rental company Sixt Australia – formerly known as Thrifty – announced a partnership with BMW to receive 100 examples of the iX3 electric SUV, available to rent alongside the MG ZS EV, Hyundai Ioniq, Hyundai Kona Electric and Tesla Model 3.

Although not a rental car company, utilities provider AGL offers the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq and Mini Electric through a subscription service, allowing its customers to sample the electric cars for a week.

Meanwhile, Australian car-sharing start-up Evee allows users to hire or rent out electric cars directly from their owners, similar to the business model of Airbnb.