Hertz plans to bring electric car hire to China
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Hertz is planning to offer electric vehicle rental in China, and will expand the number of charging stations in the country needed to run them. The US-based car rental company today signed an agreement with General Electric in Shanghai’s that will see the roll-out of 770 charging stations in major cities across China.
Richard Broome, Hertz’s Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs told OfficialWire that his company will offer the E6 electric car, produced by battery-maker turned car manufacturer, BYD Autos.
“We think that’s the right car for our purposes. It’s a good car and it’s also got the range,” Broome said.
The E6 can travel up to 240km on a single charge, which Hertz believes to be the right distance for the kind of driving most customers would do in China.
Hertz is not the first car rental company to offer electric vehicles in China. That honour goes to eHi Car, a Chinese car rental company that is among the country’s largest. But eHi Car’s only non-conventional offering is the BYD F3DM – a hybrid plug-in sedan available for hire only in the northeastern city of Harbin. Hertz’s plan will initially offer pure electric vehicles in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, before expanding into other key cities.
Financial details of the project and charging network plan were not immediately available.
Comments are closed.