GM signs agreement to sell Hertz 175,000 electric vehicles

Sept. 20 (UPI) -- General Motors and Hertz announced a partnership Tuesday where the car manufacturer will sell 175,000 electric vehicles to the rental car giant over the next five years.

GM will start supplying Chevrolet Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs to Hertz at the beginning of next year. Then the car manufacturer is expected to start handing over newer EV models, such as the Chevrolet Blazer, Chevrolet Equinox and others.

The agreement comes as GM is expected to increase its electric vehicle output significantly in the coming years. It hopes to reach 1 million EVs in North America and China by 2025.

Hertz estimates that its customers could travel more than 8 billion miles in these electric vehicles.

Hertz has also stuck agreements with Tesla and Polestar, a Volvo-backed electric vehicle startup.

"Our work with Hertz is a huge step forward for emissions reduction and EV adoption that will help create thousands of new EV customers for GM," CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.

According to CNBC, Hertz has tried to reinvent itself by expanding its fleet of electric vehicles following its emergence from bankruptcy less than a year ago.

"It's exciting that two iconic American companies that have shaped the evolution of transportation for more than a century are coming together to redefine the future of mobility in the 21st century," Stephen Scherr, Hertz CEO, said in a statement.