Hertz Global Holdings CEO Stephen Scherr will step down at the end of March following the car rental company’s largest quarterly loss since 2020, which Scherr blamed on a risky bet on electric vehicles (EVs).
Hertz had purchased tens of thousands of EVs but soon found they were more expensive to maintain than expected and presented operational challenges.
In January, Hertz announced plans to remove 20,000 EVs from its US fleet by 2024 and switch back to gas cars.
Hertz’s electric vehicle and CEO about-face is the latest twist after a COVID bankruptcy filing and a deep relationship with Carl Icahn. https://t.co/0Q9kCuEXDL
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) March 17, 2024
This contrasts Biden’s previous praise of Hertz’s EV investment.
A Consumer Reports survey also found EVs from 2021-2023 were significantly less reliable than gas vehicles, particularly with battery and charging issues.
Car dealers also struggle to sell existing EVs despite discounts due to high prices, interest rates, inflation and a surplus of unsold inventory, as the market reaches saturation among early adopters while wider hesitancy persists.
