If you rent a car from Hertz later this year, you could find yourself behind the wheel of an all-electric Polestar. Hertz and Polestar recently announced a new global partnership that involves Hertz purchasing up to 65,000 Polestar electric vehicles. The purchases would take place over five years and Hertz will initially order the Polestar 2. Availability will begin in Europe this spring, and in late 2022 for North America and Australia.
Hertz says the partnership is part of its ongoing commitment to lead in electrification. It follows up last fall's announcement that Hertz plans to offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world.
The rental fleet company says it's also extending EVs to rideshare drivers as a way to further accelerate electrification.
"We are excited to partner with Polestar and look forward to introducing their premium EV products into our retail and rideshare fleets," said Stephen Scherr, Hertz CEO. "Today's partnership with Polestar further builds on our ambition to become a leading participant in the modern mobility ecosystem and doing so as an environmentally-forward company. By working with EV industry leaders like Polestar, we can help accelerate the adoption of electrification while providing renters, corporate customers and rideshare partners a premium EV product, exceptional experience and lower carbon footprint."
Polestar is a spin-off of Volvo. The automaker reports that it increased its global presence from 10 to 19 markets last year, nearly tripling volumes in 2021 and says it anticipates more than doubling volumes again this year. By the end of 2025, Polestar says it expects volumes to reach 290,000 vehicles per year. Polestar has previously announced its intention to list on Nasdaq New York in a proposed business combination with Gores Guggenheim, Inc. (Nasdaq: GGPI, GGPIW, and GGPIU), a deal that's expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
"Polestar is committed to accelerating the move to electric mobility with a fascinating and innovative product portfolio," said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. "We are delighted that Hertz has chosen Polestar as a strategic partner on their road to electrification. The partnership with a global pioneer like Hertz will bring the amazing experience of driving an electric car to a wider audience, satisfying a broad variety of our mutual customers' short- and longer-term mobility requirements. For many of them it may be the first time they have driven an EV, and it will be a Polestar."
Polestar 1, a hybrid electric, was the brand's first vehicle. Polestar 2 is the brand's first fully EV high volume vehicle and includes the world's first infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS with Google built-in for the premium EV segment. Next up, the Polestar 3, a premium electric performance SUV, is set to launch in 2022 and will be the first Polestar to be built in the United States. A smaller, electric performance coupe, Polestar 4 is expected to follow in 2023. In 2024, the Polestar 5 electric performance 4-door GT will launch as the production evolution of Polestar Precept, a concept car Polestar released in 2020.
Photo Credit: Hertz/Polestar