Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com
Hertz Global Holdings announced on Monday that agreed to purchase up to 65,000 electric vehicles over five years from Polestar, as part of the plan to expand its plug-in offerings. The Hertz deal is similar to an agreement made with Tesla in October 2021 to provide 100,000 vehicles to its fleets in North America and Europe by the end of 2022.
For Hertz, the partnership is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to lead in electrification, shared mobility and a digital-first customer experience. The partnership with Polestar builds on Hertz’s announcement last October to offer its customers the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world. In addition to making the fleet available to its business and leisure customers, Hertz is 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 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.”
Hertz will initially order Polestar 2, an award-winning EV which established Polestar’s position as a premium EV manufacturer with its first volume model. Polestar 2 brings avant-garde Scandinavian design and leading in-car technology. Polestar 2 includes the world’s first infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS with Google built-in for the premium EV segment, in a driver-oriented, dynamic driving package.
The company sold 544 vehicles in Norway during March reaching the best monthly result since December 2020, when sold a total of 670 units of Polestar 2. The company announced on March 16th that the first batch of Polestar 2 models has already arrived Norway regarding company’s partnership with Avis. The Swedish EV maker and the car rental company have signed an agreement on the delivery of 200 Polestar 2. The EV maker has a global sales target of 65,000 units for this year.
Although the best monthly result in 14 months, the Q1 2022 deliveries in Norway represent a 2.70% decline from the last quarter of Q4 2021. The company delivered a total of 1,191 units in Norway from January to March, down from 1,224 vehicles in Q4 2021.
In June 2021, Mer Norway, Volvo Cars and Polestar partnered up to make an exclusive offer for Smart Home chargers, as well as an exclusive discount in Mer’s nationwide charging network.
In January 2021, Polestar 2 has been announced as Norway’s Car of the Year. At the time, Polestar CEO said: “To win Car of the Year in Norway, the world’s most advanced EV market, is a huge achievement for our young Polestar brand”.
“Norway has been a key market from the start of our journey, and this level of recognition, on top of our recent People’s Choice Award from the Norwegian public, encourages and motivates us to keep pushing and carving our own path.”
The company announced that has arrived Ireland with its Polestar 2 model with a starting price of €54,500 as global expansion continues. Polestar also unveiled a four-week roadshow running from May 9th, starting in Dublin and moving on to Irish cities of Kilkenny, Cork and Galway.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com