General Motors wants to get consumers in its electric vehicles via rental car company Hertz and CEO Mary Barra is touting the plan in a new video with Hertz CEO Stephen Scheer.
In a series of EV road trips Scherr plans to do to promote Hertz electrifying its fleet, his first guest was Barra in a video released Wednesday on social media. It can be viewed at www.hertz.com/arewethereyet.
“As Hertz builds one of the largest electric car rental fleets in the world there’s one question I’m often asked about electric travel: Are we there yet?” Scherr says in the video. “To answer that question, I’m setting out on a series of EV road trips. First stop is Detroit, Michigan.”
In September 2022, Hertz said it would order up to 175,000 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop EVs over the next five years. Hertz intends for one-quarter of its fleet to be electric by the end of next year.
In the video, Scherr is driving a Cadillac Lyriq and he picks up Barra in it. Barra straps in and they talk about the car. She said the Lyriq represents Cadillac’s highest standard for craftsmanship and innovation, noting that 100 years ago, Cadillac was the first brand to deploy an electric starter to rid the world of a crank start.
Scherr said Hertz can’t wait to get some Lyriqs in the fleet. Hertz spokesperson Lauren Luster said the company expects to have about 10,000 GM EVs in its fleet by year-end and will continue to steadily take delivery of a range of EV models from GM in 2024 and beyond. The Chevy Silverado and Cadillac Lyriq EVs will be available for rent at Hertz beginning later this fall, she said.
Last fall, Hertz said it planned to buy Chevrolet Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs in the first quarter of this year.
“Hertz will be an interesting way to introduce people not just to the Lyriq, but to electric vehicles more broadly,” Scherr said.
The video is meant to be folksy and entertaining as Scherr casually interviews Barra about her career path at GM and what she does on her drive into the office.
“On the way to work I’m always listening to CNBC,” Barra said. “Hearing what’s happening in the world and especially in the corporate world, that’s my focus. On the way home, I’m generally listening to music. My son got me hooked on country music. … I never thought I’d be a country music person, but he got me hooked.”
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Scherr asks whether the auto industry and the country “are there yet in EVs?”
“I’d like to say we’re in the first turn of the first lap,” Barra said. “There is so much more to come with EVs. I’m super excited about the opportunity for people to have their first EV experience with Hertz, especially in a GM vehicle. I see it as a launch point to really growing EV adoption.”
They end up at the GM Design Zone at the GM Global Technical Center in Warren where she shows him a blue Chevrolet Silverado RST electric pickup, which she said will get 400 miles-plus of range.
“When people rent this Silverado EV, they’ll realize they’re not giving anything up,” Barra said. “In fact, they’re getting the pep of an EV.”
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.