Hertz to sell used vehicles online through Amazon Autos partnership

Hertz on Wednesday announced it will start selling preowned vehicles on Amazon Autos, a move meant to bolster the car rental company’s retail operations as it looks to bring in more profits.

Shares of Hertz soared Wednesday.

Under the partnership, customers can browse from thousands of used Hertz vehicles on Amazon Autos, e-sign the paperwork, complete their purchase online and pick up their vehicle at Hertz locations.

Customers who live within 75 miles of the four initial cities — Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle — can start browsing on Amazon as soon as Wednesday, and Hertz eventually plans to expand the arrangement to 45 locations nationwide.

The partnership gives Hertz, known for its car rentals, more visibility and a potential profit boost for its auto sales business.

It also marks an expansion for Amazon’s nascent autos business, which it launched in December through a partnership with Hyundai. Before that, shoppers could browse digital showrooms and compare prices on Amazon, but not purchase cars directly through the e-commerce giant.

Amazon Autos added used and certified preowned vehicles to its selection of offerings earlier this month starting in Los Angeles, after previously selling exclusively new vehicles. Hertz Car Sales is Amazon Autos’ first fleet dealer and will offer used vehicles from brands including Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet and Nissan.

Hertz said it sells hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year, in addition to running its signature car rental business.

“Our goal is to reimagine the car-buying experience and meet customers where they are — whether online or in person — with convenience, confidence and scale,” said Jeff Adams, executive vice president of Hertz Car Sales. “Amazon Autos is the ideal partner to help us deliver on this as customers can shop our expansive inventory of high-quality used cars on the same trusted marketplace where millions shop every day.”

The partnership with Amazon Autos is aimed at expanding Hertz’s digital retail presence and making its used vehicle inventory more accessible to customers. It’s part of a larger strategy that Hertz set out earlier this year, led by CEO Gil West, to boost its retail business by increasing its retail footprint, raising awareness of the Hertz Car Sales brand and building strategic partnerships.

After entering bankruptcy during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and dealing with a failed EV strategy shortly after that, Hertz last year introduced its “Back-to-Basics Roadmap” turnaround plan. The focus is on fleet management, revenue optimization and cost efficiency.

Hertz said the first quarter of this year marked its strongest-ever quarter for retail vehicle sales.

During the company’s Aug. 7 earnings call, West said Hertz has seen strong momentum in its Rent2Buy program, which allows customers to take a used car home for a three-day rental period before committing to buying it. Hertz announced last week that the program is set to reach more than 100 cities.

— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.