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Second prank
: Polestar boss
Thomas Ingenlath
at the presentation of the Polestar 2, which is now being bought by Hertz
Photo: Polestar
Just five months after the announced mega deal with Tesla, the US car rental company Hertz has announced another one.
The company wants to buy up to 65,000 vehicles from the Swedish-Chinese electric car manufacturer Polestar for its international fleet over the next five years.
In Europe, the first vehicles would be delivered in the spring, in North America and Australia at the end of the year, both companies announced on Monday.
Hertz initially only wants to take over Polestar 2 vehicles.
It's one of the biggest electric car deals of all time.
Hertz CEO
Stephen Scherr
is intensifying his electric offensive.
He stated that he wants to offer "the largest electric vehicle rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world".
Last October, he caused a sensation when he ordered 100,000 Teslas;
the Tesla share price had then reached hitherto unknown heights.
Under certain circumstances, Hertz could even acquire significantly more Teslas.
The cooperation with Polestar is also an important step for the electrical plans, the company said.
The deal comes at just the right time for Polestar.
The company, which is run by designer
Thomas Ingenlath
(57), wants to go public on the US Nasdaq stock exchange in the first half of 2022.
A market value of 20 billion dollars is targeted.
The huge deal with Hertz could help reassure investors after a number of the young, aggressive electric car manufacturers on the stock exchanges had recently come under pressure.
Polestar is owned by the Chinese Geely Group and its Swedish subsidiary Volvo Car.
Volvo shares rose by more than seven percent at times on Monday.
Polestar has two models on the market so far;
Hertz will initially order Polestar 2 vehicles, a midsize sedan with a hatchback.
Ingenlath has already announced three other models, including two SUVs.
In 2021, Polestar sold 29,000 vehicles - by 2025 Ingenlath promises investors a tenfold increase to 290,000.
Sales are expected to grow from the current $1.4 billion to $17.6 billion in 2025.
In 2021, Polestar made a loss of around one billion euros.
The models for Hertz are to be rented to business and private customers and used in ride-sharing services.
"For many consumers it will probably even be the first time that they drive an electric car - and it will be a Polestar," said Ingenlath happily.
Nothing was known about the financial details of the deal.
lhy/dpa
