HERTZ BRINGS THOUSANDS OF EVS AND CHARGERS TO U.S. CITIES

The rental car company’s Hertz Electrifies program will start in Denver.

WASHINGTON—Hertz has launched  Hertz Electrifies, an electrification initiative that partners with U.S. cities to bring in EV fleets, build charging infrastructure, create educational and training opportunities for jobs and bring EVs and charging to underserved communities.

“Electric vehicles are poised to transform the future of mobility,” said Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr. “That’s why Hertz is investing in the largest electric vehicle rental fleet in North America and bringing a new driving experience to leisure and business customers, as well as rideshare drivers. I can think of no better partner in Hertz’s shift towards electrification than America’s cities, where innovation is happening.”

The initiative will launch in Denver, Colorado. Hertz is planning to have 5,200 rental EVs available to customers in Denver, including rideshare drivers, and increase charging capacity at Denver International Airport and at Hertz locations.

Also, in partnership with bp pulse, Hertz will support the installation of publicly accessible EV chargers in Denver, as well as share telematics from Hertz’s fleet of connected cars to help inform public charging infrastructure planning. Hertz will also offer summer job opportunities and provide EVs, tools and training to Montbello Career and Technical High School for students enrolled in its auto certificate program.

“Our goal is to reduce Denver’s carbon emissions 80% by 2050, and expanding the use and availability of electric vehicles will play a major role in helping us achieve that goal,” said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “This partnership with Hertz will provide invaluable data about where we need charging infrastructure the most, as well as provide new opportunities with this new technology to create good-paying jobs for our current and future workforce.”

In September, Hertz partnered with bp to develop an EV charging network for customers across North America, powered by bp pulse. Bp pulse will manage the charging infrastructure and offer Hertz customizable software, allowing the company to ensure its EVs are charged quickly between rentals.

Hertz also is partnering with Uber to make up to 25,000 EVs available to Uber drivers in European capital cities by 2025. The deal will begin in Hertz Europe’s London base in January 2023 and aims to expand to other European capitals, such as Paris and Amsterdam, throughout the year and beyond.

“Expanding our partnership with Hertz into Europe will significantly boost our transition to zero-emissions, helping drivers reduce running costs and cleaning up urban transport. We aim to become a 100% electric platform across Europe by 2030,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO.

Convenience stores are investing in EV charging infrastructure, including 7-Eleven, Casey’s, Circle K and Sheetz, among many others.

“We’ve been very early adopters of EV charging,” said Sheetz’s Walter in a Bloomberg article. “We installed our first EV chargers in Pennsylvania in 2012.”

Sheetz has installed Tesla-branded chargers at its locations, and when Tesla users charge up at a Sheetz location, they pay Tesla for the charge and not Sheetz. The company is anticipating [CB1] [LK2] that during the half hour or so it takes to charge an EV, customers will come into the store and buy a drink or order food.

Here are five things c-stores can offer waiting EV customers.

For convenience retailers looking to bring EV charging to their location(s), NACS launched the EV Infrastructure Matchmaking Tool, which connects retailers with EV charging companies for all aspects and stages of offering electric vehicle supply equipment.

NACS also offers the EV Charging Calculator, which allows retailers to assess the cost and profitability of offering EV chargers at their sites. The calculator focuses on what retailer utility costs associated with EV recharging are and what the corresponding revenue must be to recover those costs after allowing for potential ancillary in-store visits and purchase profitability.

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Theo Foukkare is available for interview on 0423 003 133
Media contact – Rhett Burnie – 0411 830 126