Hertz aims to add EVs to Houston fleet and support bp's installation of
a publicly accessible EV fast-charging hub at the Hertz location at
Houston Hobby Airport
HOUSTON, March 7,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) chair and
CEO Stephen Scherr and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner launched Hertz
Electrifies Houston and
announced intentions to expand the availability of electric
vehicles (EVs), charging infrastructure, and EV education and
training opportunities in Houston.
The initiative aligns with Mayor Turner's Houston Climate Action
Plan – a strategy that sets out to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, improve regional air quality, and build climate
resilience.
"We are excited to partner with Mayor Turner and Evolve Houston
to bring Hertz Electrifies to the Energy Capital of the World, and
to expand charging capacity for our customers and the broader
community," said Stephen Scherr,
Hertz chair and CEO. "As Hertz creates the largest EV rental
fleet in North America, we look
forward to working with the city, Lone Star
College-North Harris and other organizations to expand the
benefits of electrification in the Houston community."
Hertz aims to bring over 2,100 rental EVs to Houston, nearly tripling its existing EV fleet
in the city – including models from Tesla, Polestar, and GM – for
availability to leisure and business customers as well as rideshare
drivers. In partnership with bp pulse, Hertz will support the
installation of a large, EV fast-charging hub designed to serve
ride-hail, taxi fleets, and the general public at the Hertz
location at Houston Hobby airport.
"Our goal is to convert all non-emergency, light-duty municipal
vehicles to electric by 2030. This partnership with Hertz will
provide an invaluable boost to achieve this goal and the goal of
our Climate Action Plan for Houston to be a net-zero city by
2050," said Houston Mayor
Sylvester Turner.
"Electrification can benefit every community in Houston. We're proud to work with Hertz and bp
pulse to build up electric fleets and charging infrastructure and
bring education and training that will provide new opportunities to
all Houstonians."
"Reliable, fast-charging options are critical to scale EV
adoption in America and we are thrilled to work with Hertz to bring
fast charging to the Houston
community. Along with our partnership with Hertz to develop a
Gigahub site at their Houston Hobby Airport location, we are also
developing a charging hub at bp's corporate HQ campus in
Houston that will be open to the
public," said Vic Shao, President
of bp pulse fleet. "We look forward to bringing more
fast-charging options to more Americans, and closing the
infrastructure gap that is hindering wide scale EV
adoption."
To help inform the buildout of charging infrastructure across
all neighborhoods of Houston,
Hertz is sharing with the city anonymous, aggregated telematic
insights from its fleet of connected cars through the "Hertz
Charging Opportunity Index."
"The Greater Houston area has
made significant progress in meeting electrification goals," said
Casey Brown, President and
Executive Director of Evolve Houston. "We think that the Hertz
Electrifies partnership with the city will help grow the electric
vehicle sector in Houston and look
forward to leveraging shared insights to continue to expand
charging infrastructure across all Houston communities."
Hertz is donating an electric vehicle and providing EV
educational and training materials to Lone
Star College-North Harris to enable the school to
incorporate EV technology into its auto servicing curriculum. Hertz
is also making summer jobs available to young people in
Houston, including through the
Hire Houston Youth Summer Jobs program.
"Lone Star College-North Harris
houses one of top automotive programs in Texas," said Lone
Star College-North Harris President Dr. Archie L. Blanson. "To make our students
competitive and meet industry demand, we must ensure we are
bringing the latest technologies, including a diversified fleet of
EVs into the classroom. We are glad to fulfill students' academic
needs through our partnership with Hertz and Houston. Together we will continue working to
ensure that our students are prepared for the jobs and technologies
of the future."
Houston is the second city to
partner with Hertz in this new initiative that will soon expand to
other cities across the country to create economic opportunity and
environmental benefits for communities.
About Hertz Electrifies
Hertz
Electrifies is a new public-private partnership aimed at
furthering the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles and
extending the benefits of electrification to communities throughout
the United States. The initiative
has five pillars: (1) electric vehicle and charging infrastructure;
(2) creating jobs of the future; (3) broadening economic
opportunity; (4) community engagement; and (5) policy and city
planning analysis.
About Hertz
The Hertz Corporation, a subsidiary of
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty
vehicle rental brands throughout North
America, Europe, the
Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the Middle
East, Asia, Australia and New
Zealand. The Hertz Corporation is one of the largest
worldwide vehicle rental companies, and the Hertz brand is one of
the most recognized globally. Additionally, The Hertz Corporation
operates the Firefly vehicle rental brand and Hertz 24/7 car
sharing business in international markets and sells vehicles
through Hertz Car Sales. For more information about The Hertz
Corporation, visit www.hertz.com. Hertz has tens of thousands of
EVs available at more than 500 Hertz locations across 38
states.
About The City of
Houston
The City of
Houston is a large metropolis in Texas and home to over 2 million residents. As
the Energy Capital of the World, Houston is the headquarters and the
intellectual capital for virtually every segment of the energy
industry including exploration, production, transmission,
marketing, supply, and technology. Houston employs nearly a third of the nation's
jobs in oil and gas extraction. Home to a vibrant economy,
beautiful surroundings and a population full of optimism and
spirit, it's no wonder that Houston is a popular international
destination.
About bp
bp's ambition is to become a net zero company
by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world get to net zero. bp has a
larger economic footprint in the United
States than anywhere else in the world, investing more than
$140 billion since 2005 and
supporting about 245,000 jobs. For more information on bp in the
US, visit www.bp.com/US.
About bp pulse
bp pulse is bp's electric vehicle (EV)
charging business, rolling out fast, reliable charge points to
consumers and commercial fleets around the world. Entering into the
Americas, bp pulse focuses on providing EV charging and energy
management to fleets that operate heavy-, medium- and light-duty
vehicles. Key offerings for these fleets include intelligent charge
management software, Omega, and a Charging-as-a-Service
solution–allowing bp pulse to manage the charging of an EV fleet
from start to finish, while optimizing energy costs and vehicle
utilization. Globally, bp pulse is one of the UK's leading rapid
and ultrafast public EV charging networks. It also operates the
largest number of sites with ultra-fast charging in Germany, with a growing charging point
footprint in China and
the Netherlands. The company aims
to increase its network of public EV charging points by 2030 to
over 100,000 worldwide.
About Evolve Houston
Evolve Houston is a coalition of
sustainability-minded civic, business, and academic leaders who
seek to accelerate clean transportation through electrification.
Collaborating with government, academic, private industry, and
community leaders, our goal is to improve regional air quality and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Greater Houston area.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws.
Words such as "aim," "create," "accelerate," "transition,"
"will," "build," "future," "transform," "invest," "shift,"
"launch," "increase," "initiative," "expand," add," and "develop,"
and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which
include but are not limited to statements related to the expansion
of Hertz's EV fleet and its partnership with Uber, installation of
charging infrastructure including in partnership with bp, and any
other statements regarding future expectations, beliefs, plans,
objectives, future events or performance. We caution you that
these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are
subject to numerous evolving risks and uncertainties that we may
not be able to accurately predict or assess, including Hertz's
ability to expand its EV fleet, develop and install sufficient EV
charging infrastructure, and otherwise execute on its strategic
plans, as well as other factors identified in the risk factors of
Hertz's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 23, 2022 and any updates thereto in
subsequent filings with the SEC including in Hertz's Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q. We caution you not to place undue reliance on
our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their date,
and Hertz undertakes no obligation to update this information.
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SOURCE The Hertz Corporation