Hertz Italy Launches smart fortwo Electric Vehicle in Rome for Italo-NTV Train Customers

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Hertz Italy Launches smart fortwo Electric

Vehicle in Rome for Italo-NTV Train Customers

PR Newswire

ROME, June 19, 2012

ROME

,

June 19, 2012

/PRNewswire/ --

Hertz and Italo-NTV partnership offers sustainable travel solution for Italy's

capital city

The Hertz Corporation (

NYSE: HTZ

), the world's largest general use car rental

brand, has announced that through its partnership with Italo-NTV, the first

European private high speed railway operator, Italo customers will be able to

rent stylish smart fortwo electric drives from the Hertz locations at the Rome

Tiburtina and Rome Ostiense train stations. These electric vehicles can be

booked from just

8 euros

per hour through the website http://www.hertzitalo.it

using the special Italo discount code, and will be powered at charging units

provided by Enel,

Italy's

largest electric utility. The program is an important

step in the Manifesto di Roma Capitale (Rome Manifesto) to increase the

number of electric vehicles and other sustainability initiatives in

Italy's

capital

city. Electric vehicles in

Rome

have free of charge access to designated parking

areas and no ZTL (city center zone) limits.

Michel Taride, President of Hertz International and Executive Vice President,

Hertz Corporation: "Hertz is committed to delivering smart mobility and

sustainability solutions for business and leisure travellers. We strongly believe

that offering the smart fortwo electric drive to Italo customers is crucial to

increase acceptance for this new form of transport in conjunction with train

travel."

"Through our close co-operation with Italo-NTV, the operator's customers can

easily go from the train to electric vehicle to get to their final destination. The

smart fortwo electric drive's offer a fun and perfect solution to move about in

the city - and will help support the Rome Manifesto for electric vehicles," added

Massimiliano Archiapatti, General Manager, Hertz Italy.

Giuseppe Sciarrone, General Manager, Italo-NTV, said: "Italo is an eco-friendly

train that offers a greener way to travel. The train offers less noise pollution

and energy consumption than other forms of transport and is 98% built from

recyclable materials - a testimony to our strong commitment to the

environment. Thanks to our partnership with Hertz, we are particularly glad to

be able to offer our passengers a sustainable and efficient solution to get

around in the city once they step off the train."

The smart fortwo electric drive offers no compromises in safety, agility,

comfort and space. The zero emissions two-seater is powered by a lithium-ion

battery developed by Tesla Motors Inc. A fully charged battery is sufficient for

up to 135 kilometers of driving fun. The discounted rental rates from just

8

euros

per hour for the smart fortwo electric drive are available to Italo

customers as part of the exclusive partnership agreement between Hertz and

Italo-NTV.

Hertz is the first car-rental company to deploy EVs and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid

electric) on three continents - in the U.S. (available to the public in

New York

,

Washington, D.C.

and

San Francisco

), the U.K. (

London

),

China

(

Shenzhen

), and

now in

Italy

. Hertz added the smart fortwo electric drive to its EV fleet in the US

in 2010, with the zero-emission car now available in

San Francisco

,

New York

and

Washington, DC

.

As the world's largest airport general-use car-rental brand, Hertz is introducing

multiple groups of consumers - urban drivers, university students, travelers and

corporations - to all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. As a result, the

company is forming partnerships with automakers, charging-station providers

(e.g., Enel), municipalities, non-governmental organizations, corporations and

other stakeholders to make EVs easily accessible to consumers.

Hertz plans to increase its global EV presence by deploying vehicles in other

countries in the coming months. Hertz Global EV will continue to leverage the

company's rental and car sharing locations as bases for vehicles and charging

stations, and tap into its technology - including sophisticated fleet management

tools and consumer-facing GPS systems, including Hertz NeverLost in the U.S. -

to help form an EV grid.

About Hertz

Hertz is the world's largest general use car rental company, operating from

over 8,500 corporate locations in 150 countries worldwide. Hertz is in its 93rd

year of delivering quality car rental solutions to leisure and corporate

customers. Product and service innovations such as Hertz #1 Club Gold,

Worldwide Online Check-in, specially designed NeverLost® satellite navigation

systems, and unique cars offered through the company's Prestige, Family,

Fun/Adrenaline and Green Collections, set Hertz apart from the competition.

For more information please go to http://www.hertz.com.

About Italo-NTV

NTV is the first private operator on the Italian high speed rail network and the

first operator in the world to use the new Alstom AGV train. The mission of NTV

is to offer passenger services on high-speed lines, presenting innovative

features; comfortable, technologically advanced surroundings; and top quality

at competitive prices. NTV's Italo trains connect the cities of

Naples

-

Rome

-

Florence-Bologna-Milan and shortly the service will be extended to Salerno,

Turin

and

Venice

.

About smart

smart has been redefining individual urban mobility for more than thirteen

years. The two-seater smart fortwo electric drive combines responsibility to the

environment and high sustainability standards with joie de vivre and a high fun

factor. More than 1.3 million smart fortwos have been delivered to customers

since the first model was launched in 1998. 101,996 smart fortwos were

handed over to customers worldwide in 2011 - 4.6 percent more than in the

previous year. The smart fortwo electric drive is a further logical step in the

evolution of the smart brand, which boasts a fleet with the lowest fuel

consumption.

CONTACT (U.S.)

:

Paula Rivera

[phone]

[e-mail]

CONTACT (International)

:

Zoë White

[phone]

[e-mail]