A look at why Hertz plans to cut a third of its EV fleet

The jolt of providing customers electric vehicles at Hertz to rent is losing some of its power, as the company recently announced it will sell off 20,000 vehicles. The move comes a bit more than two years after Hertz, then not far removed from its historic bankruptcy filing, announced a major investment in Tesla and signed one of the world’s most famous athletes to promote its initiative.

In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Jan. 11, the Estero-based car rental company announced it was getting rid of the vehicles by the end of the year as it looks to eliminate a “disproportionate number of lower margin rentals and reduce damage expenses associated with EVs.”