Hertz Dumps More BEVs Amid Q1 Losses

Hertz continues to dump its fleet of battery-electric vehicles, citing the huge repair costs hitting its operating bottom line.

The car rental giant announces a further 10,000 vehicle sales to push its total BEV sell-off so far this year to 30,000 vehicles, reports Reuters. It blames the higher repair costs for BEVs against those for internal-combustion and gas-hybrid powertrain cars as a major contributor to its worse-than-expected quarterly operating losses.

The company also says it took a $588 million hit in vehicle depreciation costs during the quarter, of which $195 million was related to BEVs held for sale.

In a company statement announcing the quarterly losses, Hertz CEO Gil West says: “Fleet and direct operating costs weighed on this quarter's performance. 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. These, along with creating a superior customer experience, will be our focus as we position ourselves to take advantage of strong travel demand in this transition year. We've put the right strategy in place, and I see a clear path for Hertz to generate sustainable and higher earnings for our shareholders.”