Hyperdrive
Hertz’s Electrified Fleet Could Be the Auto Industry’s Safety Net
Big fleet sales to rental car giants could soak up EVs if mid-market buyers don’t come to the party.
A Hertz rental lot in California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
It wasn’t that long ago that sales to rental fleets were seen as a sign of failure. With the dawn of the electric-vehicle age, that’s changing.
In the past, automakers typically took aging or unpopular models, stripped them of many creature comforts and sold them to the likes of Hertz and Avis at discounted prices. It was a way to keep production lines moving until a freshened version of the car got to market.