Hertz’s journey began with Walter L. Jacobs, who founded a small rental company in Chicago with a fleet of just 12 Ford Model Ts. The business was soon purchased by John D. Hertz, whose vision transformed it into a cornerstone of American mobility. For decades, Hertz led the industry by strategically locating rental booths at airports, capitalizing on the post-World War II boom in commercial air travel. This "fly-drive" model became a vital component of business and leisure travel, cementing the company’s reputation as an essential service for the modern traveler.
However, Hertz utilized its restructuring period to pivot toward the future of transportation: hertz*car
The history and evolution of Hertz, a global leader in the car rental industry, offers a unique case study on innovation, corporate resilience, and the shifting dynamics of global transportation. From its modest beginnings in 1918 to its current status as a household name operating in over 160 countries, the story of Hertz reflects broader economic and technological trends of the 20th and 21st centuries. Hertz’s journey began with Walter L