Hertz is off-loading an additional 10,000 electric vehicles from its fleet because of depreciation. This comes just a few months after it started to sell 20,000 EVs, primarily Teslas. In 2021, the car rental giant emerged from a brief bankruptcy and reached a deal with Tesla to purchase 100,000 vehicles for its fleet. However, aggressive price cuts initiated by Tesla throughout 2023 destabilized the used market, resulting in huge depreciation of its used vehicles.
This contributed to a $392 million loss in the first quarter of 2024, even though the company reported a 2% growth in revenue. “Fleet and direct operating costs weighed on this quarter's performance,” Hertz chief executive Gil West said. “We're tackling both issues—getting to the right supply of vehicles at an acceptable capital cost while at the same time driving productivity up and operating costs down.