Hertz Archives - usatoday24

The electric rental car still cannot find its place. Hertz tried it and it cost him 4 billion to discover it

March 15, 2026 by usatoday24

In October 2021, Hertz announced with great fanfare that bought 100,000 Teslas worth 4.2 billion dollars. It was the biggest bet by a vehicle rental company on electric vehicles. He didn’t know what he had gotten himself into. And four years later, that bet has ended up becoming one of the most expensive lessons in history, because between 2023 and 2025, the company has accumulated losses of more than 4.5 billion dollars, a good part of them directly linked to that decision. What went wrong from the beginning. The business of a car rental company is not just renting, as they also need to sell the vehicles when they are paid for at the best possible price. And that is where the electric became a basic problem. electric cars They depreciate faster than combustion ones in the first three to five years, something that Hertz saw firsthand. When the fleet of Teslas began to lose value, the company was unable to place them on the second-hand market at a profitable price. The final blow came when Elon Musk decided reduce the price of new Teslaswhich automatically dragged down the value of the used cars that Hertz had in its fleet. In detail. Added to that were other problems that were not in the script. Electrical repairs they were more expensive Compared to combustion vehicles, tires wore out faster and many drivers simply did not want to rent an electric car. In addition, it should be noted that the charging network in the United States was (and partly still is) insufficient for travelers who do not fully know the specifics of charging an electric car. According to MarketWatch, electric cars in the United States they are not popular among rental customers precisely due to the scarce network of charging points in the country. And a car stopped in the parking lot does not generate income, but it does generate costs. The numbers of the disaster. In 2024 alone, Hertz registered a net loss of $2.9 billionafter having closed the first nine months of the year with 1,332 million in the red. The company rapidly sold the 30,000 electric vehicles that it planned to liquidate, and in 2025 it closed the year with a net loss of 747 million, although with an improvement of more than 2,000 million compared to the previous year. The results of 2025 We met them precisely a few weeks ago, in their financial report. The numbers are improving, but right now Hertz’s stock is trading near historic lows and the market does not quite believe the recovery. It’s not just Hertz. The company has not been the only one that has gone through this bad experience, in fact it has been a warning sign for the rest of the competitors. Avis Budget Group, the second largest global vehicle rental group, closed 2025 with losses of nearly 1 billion dollarsthe main reason being its electric fleet in the United States. The company had to register more than 500 million in asset impairment by reducing the estimated useful life of its electric cars, which caused them to plummet in the stock market by more than 20% in a single day after presenting results. Avis CEO Brian Choi even publicly acknowledged to investors that the quarter’s results were “unacceptable,” according to picked up SherwoodNews. Between the lines. A McKinsey report from April 2025 pointed out that only one in ten American consumers is considering going electric with their next purchase. If the customer who rents a car does not want an electric one, because he does not know where to charge it, because it generates range anxiety or simply because it is not comfortable, the rental company has an expensive vehicle that depreciates quickly and that spends too much time without generating income. Therefore, the equation does not work. And now what. Hertz has promised that 2026 will be the year of the turning point. The company anticipates revenue growth of between 4% and 6% in the first quarter of this year and has once again placed the depreciation target below $300 per month per vehicle, which was the figure it always indicated as the profitability threshold. Avis is also looking ahead cautiously. Both companies hope to improve results in 2026, relying on younger fleets and managing its electric cars more conservatively, adapting its presence in markets where there is a more mature charging infrastructure, as is the case in California. What is clear is that the great bet of massive electric rental in the United States has failed, at least in its first version. The electric car may have a future in rental fleets, but not at any price, not in any market and, of course, not without the customer being willing to get into it. Cover image | Ernie Journeys In Xataka | No matter what you do: the wheels of your car are revealing your position to anyone who wants to monitor you

Hertz hired an AI company so that his clients felt safe by returning cars. Are more insecure than ever

August 3, 2025 by usatoday24

“I only have one problem, I am too perfectionist.” No, if you have thought about saying this in your next job interview, I would say you park the idea aside. And I would say that it is not the best idea if you want the work to move forward efficiently. It can be very effective but very little efficient. If you have doubts, ask Hertz. What happened? Hertz is one of the large rental cars companies. In his search to clarify the possible conflicts with customers about whether or not that scrape was before taking the car keys, the company associated with Uveye in April and since then it has been deploying verifier tunnels in the airports that analyze the state of the car. In its statementHertz pointed out that “AI -driven camera systems and Uveye automatic learning algorithms allow automated inspections in real time of the body, glass or tires.” The ultimate goal is to give “greater precision to our maintenance process, so that we can focus on our vehicles being ready when and where our customers want them.” Too much precision. And what if they have achieved precision. As soon as a few months have passed before the company has to face its first controversy. At the International Airport Hartsfield-Jackson From Atlanta, in the US, the system has already been mounted and one of the clients already knows what it is to face the scrutiny of the AI. Patrick, a client who had rented a Hertz car, found a $ 440 sanction by the company. This alleges that the customer marked the car with a scratch of 2.5 centimeters. With the contract signed by Patrick, the company defends that the driver must pay almost half of that amount for the repair of the car and, in addition, pay $ 125 for the processing and another $ 65 to administrative expenses. This reached the sum of more than 400 dollars. Nail clients. The client, they explain in The Drivehe refused to pay for the damage after seeing the images provided by the company that, through an application they advanced that, as if it were the soon payment of a fine of the DGT, he would receive a bonus of 50 euros. But Patrick’s case is not the only one. Carscoop He explains that more than one client has had problems with the artificial intelligence system that Hertz’s cars is reviewing. The problem, they say, is that the system is failing on some occasions, either ignoring friction in cars or by giving bodies that do not have any damage. There is nothing. This last medium echoes a client who has told his Reddit experience (Akkasca of user name). There he presented his case. Before leaving the car at Houston airport, Texas, she checked that everything was in order. The tunnel passed without novelty but when he already set up to the terminal, a notification came to the mobile phone that there was a body damage. Strange, he went to the car again and found that the detail shown by the AI should only be a reflection. He decided to record a video and, subsequently, present it as proof to Hertz. However, he says, the rent is washed and says that she has to talk to those responsible for the company of AI who, in turn, have dismissed the video in which nothing is seen. This is not. Chaos has also been followed by New York Post. The media indicates that among the few solutions that are there is, obviously, not to rent a Hertz car where they have implemented the tunnels with AI. The problem: at the end of the year they hope to have 100 operating tunnels distributed throughout the United States. The problem would be such if it were not for the small detail that the AI is not only being extremely careful on some occasions or making errors for the incident light in the body. As if that were not enough, there are friction that does not contemplate and, therefore, the next client runs the risk of being accused of touching a car that was already damaged. The solution should be to record a video in which the status of the car is shown before getting on it but we have already seen that in case of error Hertz’s clients are not obtaining the best response from the company. In fact, The New York Times It tells the story of a client who was sanctioned by the AI with more than $ 100 dollars despite the fact that a Hertz employee had verified that the car had been delivered correctly. Photo | Uveye In Xataka | We are less and less owners of our cars. The renting in Spain accelerates even between individuals

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