Hertz is once again growing its EV fleet, announcing Tuesday that it has struck a deal with General Motors to purchase 175,000 electric vehicles from the automaker’s Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop brands over the next five years. Customers will see the first offerings, namely the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, arrive on Hertz lots beginning in the first quarter next year.
The deal, which runs through 2027, will bring a wide variety of models to Hertz’s growing EV herd. Between now and 2027, the rental company expects its customers to drive about 8 billion miles in said EVs, preventing an estimated 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released. Hertz plans to convert a quarter of its rental fleet to battery electric by 2024.
This news follows Hertz’s 65,000-vehicle order from Polestar in April, which the performance EV maker has already begun deliveries on. An earlier announcement in 2021 had many believing that Tesla would be supplying the Hertz fleet with 100,000 vehicles, worth an estimated $4.2 billion, was quickly kiboshed by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Hertz is already planning to rent 50,000 Tesla EVs to Uber drivers, which now operate in 25 North American cities, there’s no word on whether GM’s vehicles will be offered under similar terms.