Hertz has signed a deal with Swedish premium car maker Polestar to purchase up to 65,000 electric vehicles over the next five years. The rental company is transitioning its fleet to electric vehicles and this latest deal will cover several international regions. It will include its traditional rental schemes for both business and leisure customers as well as ridesharing programmes. The initial rollout will being in Europe in the coming months and later in 2022 will extend to North America and Australia.
Speaking about the deal, Stephen Scherr, Hertz CEO, said: “We are excited to partner with Polestar and look forward to introducing their premium EV products into our retail and rideshare fleets. Today’s partnership with Polestar further builds on our ambition to become a leading participant in the modern mobility ecosystem and doing so as an environmentally-forward company. By working with EV industry leaders like Polestar, we can help accelerate the adoption of electrification while providing renters, corporate customers and rideshare partners a premium EV product, exceptional experience and lower carbon footprint.”
The CEO of Polestar, Thomas Ingenlath, added: “Polestar is committed to accelerating the move to electric mobility with a fascinating and innovative product portfolio. We are delighted that Hertz has chosen Polestar as a strategic partner on their road to electrification. The partnership with a global pioneer like Hertz will bring the amazing experience of driving an electric car to a wider audience, satisfying a broad variety of our mutual customers’ short- and longer-term mobility requirements. For many of them it may be the first time they have driven an EV, and it will be a Polestar.”
It’s another significant achievement for Polestar, which has enjoyed steady growth since its launch in 2017. In 2021 it almost tripled its volumes and expects to reach a production output of 290,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2025.
This agreement will initially involve Hertz buying the Polestar 2, which has recently added a single-motor version that benefits from a longer range. There is an SUV in development, set to be called the Polestar 3, and this model is likely to play a crucial role in the leisure and ridesharing aspect of Hertz’s business model in the coming years.
