Hertz, which intends to add hundreds of EVs to its fleet over the coming months, will make EVs available at locations in Manhattan, Washington DC and San Francisco beginning 15 December 2010 with plan for full-scale deployment of EVs in both the US and other countries throughout 2011.
Hertz will build partnerships with manufacturers, charging station providers, municipalities, NGOs, corporations and other stakeholders to scale up EV usage for the general public and use its rental and car sharing locations as bases for vehicles and charging stations.
Hertz plans to form an EV grid by including new technologies like fleet management tools and the consumer-facing Never Lost GPS system as a part of the initiative, building out the infrastructure necessary to make EV travel an everyday reality.
The company has ordered vehicles from Nissan, GM, Toyota, smartUSA, and Mitsubishi and has signed an agreement with NRG Energy to support development of a charging infrastructure and services for EV in Texas.
Hertz chairman and CEO, Mark Frissora said that Hertz is the first to provide consumers with EVs access on a global scale, and by introducing EVs in New York, Washington and San Francisco Hertz is making electric mobility a reality for consumers worldwide.
