Many EV startups are hard at work making EVs the next big thing. Polestar, however, may have just succeeded. In a deal announced today, Hertz plans to purchase 65,000 electric vehicles from Polestar over the next five years. The process begins immediately in Europe, starting with the award-winning Polestar 2. Hertz intends to incorporate EVs in North America and Australia towards the end of the year.
Hertz CEO, Stephen Scherr says: “We are excited to partner with Polestar and look forward to introducing their premium EV products into our retail and rideshare fleets… 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 CEO Thomas Ingenlath adds: “The partnership with a global pioneer like Hertz will bring the amazing experience of driving an electric car to a wider audience… For many of them it may be the first time they have driven an EV, and it will be a Polestar.”
Clearly Hertz has faith in Polestar’s ability to deliver quality, functional vehicles to be used in all situations. One may not be surprised, since Polestar is a 100 percent EV company. But they can also draw on sister-company Volvo’s experience, technology and manufacturing capabilities.
The Hertz Advantage
We can only imagine how happy Polestar must be. Securing a deal with Hertz is an automaker’s dream. For example, in the early days of the Mustang, Hertz had a significant impact on sales. The 1966 Mustang GT350H (H for Hertz) catapulted the Mustang to mainstream status. Down to this day classic Mustangs continue to be among the top collector cars.
What will become of the Polestar 2? That largely depends on how well Polestar has prepped for this moment and how quickly they can overcome any setbacks that arise. If all goes well, this may be just the push needed for Polestar, and all EVs.