Rental giant Hertz gave the whole EV industry a boost with last year’s announcement that it would add up to 100,000 Teslas to its fleet. Now the company has announced plans to buy up to 65,000 EVs from Polestar over five years. It expects to make the new EVs available beginning in Spring 2022 in Europe and late 2022 in North America and Australia.

Hertz will initially order the Polestar 2, the automaker’s first volume model.

In addition to adding EVs to its retail rental fleet, Hertz is making them available to rideshare drivers.

“We are excited to partner with Polestar and look forward to introducing their premium EV products into our retail and rideshare fleets,” said Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr. “Today’s partnership with Polestar further builds on our ambition to become a leading participant in the modern mobility ecosystem.”

“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,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. “For many of them it may be the first time they have driven an EV, and it will be a Polestar.”

Source: Polestar