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
Hertz Contact: Meagan Platt, meaganplatt@rational360.com, 816-377-9627; Houston Contact: Mary Benton, Mary.Benton@HoustonTX.gov, 713-208-6229
