SIMPLE ECONOMICS:

[A]nother key contributor was Hertz' discovery that EVs are between 50-60% cheaper to maintain than gasoline-powered cars.

"We focused on operational excellence and fleet optimization to produce financial results that facilitated investment in our strategic priorities, like electrification, while enhancing returns to our shareholders and being in the service of our customers," Scherr said in the earnings call.

There are fewer moving parts on EV vehicles than gas-burning cars, which means there are fewer failure points on components that can make for costly replacements. 

Additionally, the less time a vehicle is receiving repairs at the auto shop means it's spending more time on the road and thus has more opportunities to make money as a rental.

The deal with GM for more electric vehicles puts them on track to complete Hertz' electrification goals. It is the biggest single uptake commitment of EVs by a fleet customer to date, following an earlier commitment to 100,000 Model 3s from Tesla.

Earlier this year, Hertz announced a partnership with Polestar to buy 65,000 EVs.

This signals that the growing trend of electronic vehicles on roads all over the world is likely to continue.

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