In October of 2021, Hertz announced that they would purchase 100,000 Tesla Model 3’s for their rental fleet, followed by 175,000 from GM, and 65,000 from Polestar. The move was supposed to help them overcome shortages of conventional cars, lend the recently ex-bankrupt company a ‘cool factor,’ and lean on the sustainability trend to drive revenue.

Instead, it backfired. On April 1, 2024, Hertz will get their fifth CEO in four years. How could this strategy, one that seemed to be in alignment with corporate and consumer sentiment, go so wrong?

In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner looks at the series of events that have made it hard for a series of CEOs to lead the company successfully:

• The economic conditions that gave Hertz more trouble than competitors like Avis and Enterprise
• The choices they made in response to those conditions and how they may have tipped their hand
• Early signs that heavy investment in EVs may not have been the way out Hertz was looking for

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