From its early days, Tesla captured the imagination of car consumers, but when it comes to the fleet market, the company’s record has been more mixed. In January, rental giant Hertz announced plans to sell thousands of the Teslas it had purchased a couple years earlier, and replace them with gas-guzzlers. Competitor Sixt faced a similar debacle in 2023. (To be fair, these mutual PR nightmares had little to do with the quality of Tesla’s vehicles, and everything to do with poor planning by the rental agencies.)
Now Tesla has secured an order worth $5 million from the city of Baltimore. The city will buy an undetermined number of Teslas—perhaps 100 or so—for the use of city employees.
Local media Baltimore Fishbowl reports that the city sent out a procurement request, and only two companies submitted proposals—the other was a Ford dealer, and the city decided that the Mustang Mach-E didn’t meet its needs.
“The cars will be used across all agencies, primarily as administrative vehicles,” said Baltimore Department of General Services Communications Manager John Riggin. “The number of vehicles purchased depends on the pricing and the models we choose. This contract allows us to purchase two of the models currently offered: the Model 3 and the Model Y. For each of these models, we can select from one of the three trim levels offered. For example, while some agencies may not require an extended Long Range battery, others might need it for efficient daily operations.”
“The Mayor set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045,” Riggin continued. “To get there, we need to start the transition today. City Council Bill 21-0159 requires the purchase of EVs by 2030 for all light-duty administrative vehicles.”
The city is working to develop a charging deployment plan that will match charging technology with the use profile of the vehicle, Riggin added. “This could mean a dedicated Level 1 charger for a vehicle with moderate mileage per day, or a shared Level 2 charger for multiple low-mileage vehicles. DGS recently installed eight Level 2 chargers at the Central Garage, and is installing a DC fast charger to support the early adopters.”
Other good news for Tesla on the fleet front: the city of South Pasadena, California has completely electrified its police fleet with the purchase of 20 Teslas. In April, Anaheim added six Tesla police vehicles to its fleet as part of a pilot program. Over in China, the province of Jiangsu added Tesla to its list of approved vendors—the first time Tesla has earned this kind of governmental seal of approval in China.
Bad news: In Germany, Reuters reports, the Rossmann drug store chain, which currently operates 34 Teslas in its 800-vehicle fleet, says it won’t be buying any more, thanks to the bromance between Tesla’s CEO and the climate change-denying Republican presidential candidate. “Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump,” said Raoul Rossmann, the son of the company’s founder. “Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax. This stance is in stark contrast to Tesla’s mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars.”
Source: Baltimore Fishbowl, Electrek
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