Hertz to sell 20,000 EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
Hertz Global Holdings plans to sell a third of its U.S. electric vehicle fleet and reinvest in gas-powered cars due to weak demand and high repair costs for its battery-powered options.
The sales of 20,000 EVs began last month and will continue over the course of 2024, the rental giant said Thursday in a regulatory filing. Hertz will record a noncash charge in its fourth-quarter results of about $245 million related to incremental net depreciation expense.
The dramatic about-face, after Hertz announced plans in 2021 to buy 100,000 Tesla Inc. vehicles, underscores the waning demand for all-electric cars in the U.S. EV sales growth slowed sharply over the course of 2023, rising just 1.3% in the final quarter as consumers were put off by high costs and interest rates.
“The elevated costs associated with EVs persisted,” Hertz Chief Executive Officer Stephen Scherr said in an interview. “Efforts to wrestle it down proved to be more challenging.”
hertz-to-sell-20000-evs-in-shift-back-to-gas-powered-cars
but really.....what does Hertz know?