Roberto Machado Noa/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
Hertz is continuing to reduce the number of EVs in its fleet by offering customers renting an electric car the opportunity to buy it at a bargain price.
The rental company said last year it would sell 30,000 EVs including Tesla, Polestar, and Volvo cars, due to the cost of repairs and maintenance.
The fire sale means Teslas are being listed at discounted prices on Hertz's website, and now the company appears to be asking some renters if they'd like to buy their EV.
One Hertz customer was offered a 2023 Tesla Model 3 — which sells new for $35,000 after federal incentives — for $17,913, according to an email posted on Reddit that called the move an opportunity "to think of this rental as a test drive!"
Other renters said they'd been offered similar deals for Polestar and Chevy electric cars.
A Hertz spokesperson told Business Insider the emails were part of an effort to give all customers the chance to buy either an EV or combustion-engine car that will soon be put up for sale by the company. Rental companies usually sell cars after they have been driven a certain number of miles.
Hertz's decision to buy 100,000 Teslas for $4.2 billion in 2021 was hailed as a turning point for the EV industry, but the rental company's electric shift hasn't gone to plan.
Its EV fleet, which also includes cars from General Motors and Polestar, has been hit by higher-than-expected repair costs and low resale values as demand for EVs has slowed over the past year.
Hertz's EV fire sale means buyers can pick up a used Tesla Model 3 or Model Y for as little as $17,900 and $27,700.
