The Hertz Corporation announces the use of BYD’s eBUS-12 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the first such use to be conducted by a rental car company.
Hertz is testing the eBUS electric bus on its main routes to gain data on this new platform.
The BYD pure electric eBUS-12 is able to run 155 miles on a single charge in urban conditions, more than enough for Hertz’s use at its airport locations, and its energy consumption is less than 100 kWh per 60 miles.
The eBUS-12 is designed with the customer in mind, with a low floor and ample space to allow easy passenger loading and unloading and the bus has specially engineered sound insulation for a quieter cabin experience.
The eBUS is being tested at Hertz’s Los Angeles Airport location, shuttling car rental customers between the terminals and Hertz’s rental facility. With a lower cost of ownership than a traditional gas powered bus, replacing just one traditional bus with the eBUS will reduce emissions by over 320 kg of CO2 (per 150 miles traveled) and save Hertz an average of $76 per day, per bus in fuel costs! (32 gallons of diesel at $3.20/gal are replaced with $25.92 in electricity for $0.08/Kwh — the night time EV charge rates in LA).
Hertz recently expanded its EV initiative to China, making it the first global rental car company to offer electric vehicles (EVs) on three continents. In its first year, the Hertz Global EV initiative has grown from a vision to a market presence cities around the world including New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, London and Shenzhen, offering the most diverse fleet of EVs from manufactures including BYD, Nissan, GM, Mitsubishi, Renault, Daimler and Tesla. Hertz is uniquely positioned to introduce multiple groups of consumers – urban drivers, university students, travelers and corporations – to all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. As part of its strategy, Hertz is forming partnerships with automakers, charging station providers, municipalities, NGOs, corporations and other stakeholders.
Hertz plans to increase its global EV presence by deploying vehicles in other countries in the coming months. Hertz Global EV will continue to leverage the company’s rental and car sharing locations as bases for vehicles and charging stations, and tap into its technology – including sophisticated fleet management tools and the consumer-facing GPS systems, including the NeverLost GPS system in the U.S. – to help form an EV grid.
