Surprise announcement by Hertz Rental division

Interpreting Recent Professional Fleet Management EV Positions

Working solely with Professional Fleet Management (PFM) companies, both in renting and leasing, our custom is to look to their operation procedures for clues and trends to see what if anything can be gleaned to advise our private clients in Israel.

A Jewish entrepreneur Walter Jacobs founded in 1918 what would become known as Hertz Rental.  This PFM Hertz in a surprise announcement 12-1-2024 “Hertz Global Holdings Inc., once a leading advocate for electrifying its vehicle fleet, has announced plans to offload approximately a third of its U.S. electric vehicles (EVs), citing sluggish demand and burdensome maintenance costs, Bloomberg reported.

Also noteworthy here at home in Israel, is a relatively new lease contract feature. Some of the more profitable lease companies now offer the option to change cars mid lease but stipulate that EV’s are not eligible for this option.

Both instances tell the same story.  The future value of EV’s is not as stable as some were expecting. Whether it is due to a consumer base altering their initial view regarding the overall environmental impact, convenience reevaluation, or reliability and maintenance issues, the future is unclear.

Can you make use of the evolving EV technology?  Sure, but it should not be regarded as the magic bullet. The internal combustion engine still has some life in it and can still be more economical depending on application.