Hertz said Thursday that the rental car giant’s failed investment in an electric vehicle fleet continues to be an expensive mistake, reporting it lost another $195 million last quarter in depreciation value from writing off the remaining EVs the company has held for sale.
The company’s total losses were $588 million, greater than Wall Street expectations. The news sent shares down more than 24% on Thursday. The stock pared some losses on Friday.
In the previous quarter, Hertz announced its biggest quarterly loss since 2020 after its decision to pivot away from EVs.
Hertz bet big on EVs in 2021, announcing it would invest in acquiring 100,000 Teslas to help build its EV fleet. But the rental car firm reversed course early this year due to low customer demand, saying it would unload tens of thousands of EVs and return to gas-powered vehicles.
The company said Friday it plans to sell 10,000 more EVs, taking its total planned sales to 30,000 this year. Higher repair costs also weighed on the company’s overall fleet maintenance expenses.
“Fleet and direct operating costs weighed on this quarter’s performance,” said Hertz CEO Gil West, who took on the top job earlier this month following the resignation of Stephen Scherr.
