Rental car giant Hertz has made it clear that it wants fewer electric vehicles (EVs) in its US fleet, and has adopted an unusual tactic to thin out its inventory.
In January, Hertz announced it would sell 20,000 electric vehicles from its U.S. fleet due to rising depreciation and repair costs and later asked Polestar to relinquish its electric vehicle supply contract — a request the automaker agreed to, provided that certain conditions were met.
But almost a year later, the car rental company is reportedly planning to offer people who are currently renting their electric cars to buy them directly, rather than putting them up for sale online.
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On the social media platform Reddit, a user of the r/HertzRentals subreddit claims they were renting a Tesla Model 3 when they were offered to buy the company’s electric sedan, which has an MSRP of US$17,913 ($28,727).
According to the user, the 2023 vehicle has less than 48,000 km on the odometer.
Another commenter on the post claimed that they recently rented a Polestar 2 and were offered to buy it for US$28,500 ($45,700).
It appears the offer isn’t limited to electric cars, with one user saying he received an email with an offer to buy a Ford Mustang EcoBoost with 7,000 miles (11,295 km) for $31,000 (A$ 49,700).
Previous reports have indicated that Hertz is vulnerable to market conditions because it buys the cars from its fleet directly, rather than the more traditional practice of having the option to sell its vehicles back to manufacturers for a fixed price.
Former Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr resigned from his position earlier this year after just 26 months at the helm. He had inherited the company’s plans to expand its U.S. fleet with at least 25 percent electric vehicles by 2025, which had been set in motion with the order for 100,000 Teslas.
This order was placed at the list price of the cars, and not at a discounted rate, as is common between rental companies and car manufacturers.
In Australia, the Polestar 2 is the only EV available for rent through Hertz.
Over the past year, Hertz’s NASDAQ share price has fallen 67 percent to just $3.42 per share, one-tenth of its all-time high in November 2021.
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