Hertz blames its poor results on its fleet of electric cars: a new problem for this type of vehicle?

Electric cars made a strong entrance into the car rental services, with the expectation that customers would request them more often. However, over time it has become clear that this has not been the case and that electric vehicles are not delivering the results that were expected.

The company Hertz, one of the best-known and most widely used in the world, is making significant changes to its electric car fleet. The reason, as they have announced, is that this type of vehicle is not delivering the results that were expected. This measure has led Hertz to get rid of 20,000 electric cars in the United States, which will be replaced by models with combustion engines.

The reason comes down to the high maintenance cost of electric cars. Repairs on these cars are quite expensive and mean a great deal of money has to be invested in them. In addition, users’ distrust of this type of vehicle, especially with regard to range and the availability of charging infrastructure. So Hertz has chosen to sell part of its electric cars and recover the share of combustion-engine cars it had before this strategy.

According to Hertz, results have suffered because of the presence of electric vehicles in the fleet. They still record profits, but these have fallen by 70% compared with the previous year. Profit dropped from 2,059 million dollars to 616 million during 2023.

It is interesting to see how revenues have grown considerably throughout 2023, compared with 2022 revenues, but expenses have caused profits to shrink significantly. One more sign that we are far from being able to count on electric mobility in an effective and profitable way.

One more challenge that electric cars must overcome in order to establish themselves effectively in the market and become the predominant choice in users’ preferences.