Hertz partners with BP Pulse to expand EV charging network for fleet management

Hertz is teaming up with BP to install thousands of EV charging units at Hertz stores across the United States. While most of the charging units will be used to recharge vehicles in the rental car company’s fleet, some will also be available to the public, taxis, and ride-hailing companies.

Hertz will partner with the oil company’s EV-charging arm, BP Pulse, for the project. BP Pulse will install the chargers and provide software and services to aid the rental car giant in managing its expanding electric vehicle fleet.

Under a previous deal, BP Pulse installed chargers at 25 of Hertz’s airport locations. The rental car company already has thousands of EVs available to rent across about 500 locations in 38 US states. Hertz had previously been installing its own chargers. It expects to have around 3,000 chargers at its sites by the end of next year and plans to have at least a quarter of its fleet electric by 2024. 

Within the last year, Hertz announced deals with several EV companies, including Tesla, Polestar, and General Motors, to purchase a total of up to 340,000 EVs by 2027. 

“When you have gasoline or diesel, you have a scenario where the pricing for fuel is up or down by maybe, you know, 25%, a given year or something like that,” said Vic Shao, head of BP Pulse’s fleet business in an interview with CNBC.

“So when you’re operating a large-scale fleet, unless you have a fix on the cost of your “fuel,” electricity, in this case, it’s very difficult to scale up. You need to get a handle on the operational expense,” he said.

Shao said that BP Pulse’s fleet software would help the company reduce its electricity costs by scheduling recharges at lower-cost times of the day.

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