“Unacceptable” quarterly results pushed HertzHTZ

shares to their lowest price since the company went bankrupt during the pandemic — with its stock dropping more than 70% over the past 12 months. The decline stems from a failed bet on electric vehicles (EVs), resulting in losses triple the anticipated amount in Q1. To cover its bruises, the company’s CEO is stepping down — and new leadership is closing 125 locations in the US and selling off thousands of EVs.

• In 2021, Hertz ordered 100K TeslasTSLA
  , mainly banking on prices to hold steady — but they’ve fallen significantly, leading to an average monthly depreciation of $592 per vehicle.
• Compounding the issue, Hertz’s Teslas experienced 4x as many accidents as other vehicles in the fleet — requiring more time and money for repairs than traditional vehicles.

Speed bump: Hertz also faced challenges with EVs from Volvo’s Polestar, causing it to halt plans to acquire up to 65K of these vehicles earlier this year. And in both cases, the resale values of cars — especially EVs — have been falling after a banner few years in the used car market. That means rental companies like Hertz, which typically offload vehicles after a year of use, could also be in for a rude awakening.