Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) shares jumped 22% to a three-month high on Thursday after the company unveiled a new fleet management subsidiary called Oro Mobility and named Uber Technologies as its first major partner in a push into autonomous robotaxi and driver-led rideshare operations.
The two companies have formed a pair of strategic fleet partnerships designed to advance Uber's autonomous robotaxi operations as well as its driver-led rideshare services.
Oro Mobility will provide integrated fleet management solutions across a range of mobility segments, with an initial launch planned for the Bay Area later this year using Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro autonomous vehicle technology.
Hertz described Oro as filling what it called a critical orchestration and operations gap in the evolving mobility landscape.
"Hertz has spent over a century mastering complex fleet operations at scale, and Oro is how we put that expertise to work in the next era of mobility," said Gil West, Hertz's CEO. "This partnership with Uber establishes Oro as an integrated solution that connects demand with scalable fleet management services."
Uber's president and COO Andrew Macdonald said the arrangement would help bring autonomous technology onto the Uber platform more quickly and support what he described as a hybrid network of driver-led and autonomous rideshare operations.
"By combining Uber's global platform and marketplace leadership with Oro's dedicated fleet management expertise, we are well-equipped to meet increasing rideshare demand and deliver a seamless, high-quality rider experience across the entire mobility ecosystem," Macdonald said.