Back in October 2021, Hertz announced plans to operate "the largest EV rental fleet in North America" and inked a deal with Tesla to kick the process off. Now the car hire company has built on that with another partnership, this time with Sweden's Polestar.
Hertz has been offering electric vehicles for rental for over a decade, but they haven't been widely available. The commitment to add 100,000 Tesla Model 3s to its fleet by the end of this year will certainly change the EV hire landscape for drivers in North America, and even a few lucky Europeans, but now more options are on the way.
Over the next five years, Hertz will buy up to 65,000 Polestar 2 electric sedans from the Swedish premium auto maker, with the first models rolling into Europe shortly followed by North America and Australia towards the end of the year.
No mention has been made of which version of the vehicle will join the Hertz fleet. The standard single-motor flavor features a 170-kW motor for a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) and a zero to 60 sprint in seven seconds, while the 69-kWh battery has been given a WLTP per-charge range of 294 miles (483 km).
There's a long-range single-motor variant too, which packs a 78-kWh Li-ion battery for up 335 miles (539 km) of WLTP range, and another model that sports 300 kW of dual motor performance for 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 4.5 seconds on the way up to a top speed of 127 mph (205 km/h), and offers up to 298 miles (479.5 km) of WLTP range per charge.
Whichever Polestar 2 ends up on the Hertz lot, it will not only be available to leisure renters and business customers, but rideshare partners will also get a slice of the electric action too.
"We are excited to partner with Polestar and look forward to introducing their premium EV products into our retail and rideshare fleets," said Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr. "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."
Source: Hertz
