Hertz Global Holdings will equip much of its fleet with self-service technology that will allow for hourly vehicle rentals and keyless entry, starting in late summer.
Hertz will add in-car terminals and tablet-type devices to its fleet to enable keyless entry, possibly via smartphone, from locations such as neighborhoods, office complexes and college campuses, Hertz said at its annual Investor Day presentation on Tuesday.
The company, which will call the service Hertz 24/7, will announce further details in late spring and didn’t say how much it would spend on the initiative.
“Our exclusive on-demand technology will let you rent by the hour, by the day, by the week or by the month,” said Bob Stuart, Hertz’s senior vice president of global sales and marketing, adding that the company will launch a multimedia advertising campaign for the new service in the fall. “We’re going to introduce the future of car rental.”
Hertz already enables customers to rent by the hour via its car-sharing business, Hertz On Demand, which launched in December 2008 and is offered in about 200 cities and at more than 50 colleges and universities in the U.S.
Competitor Avis Budget Group recently completed its $500 million acquisition of U.S. car-sharing leader Zipcar.
Zipcar, which was founded in 1999 and went public in April 2011, has more than 760,000 members and operates in 20 cities and more than 300 college campuses in North America and the U.K.
Follow Danny King on Twitter @dktravelweekly.