Hertz, one of America’s largest car rental companies, announced that it is selling off nearly 20,000 electric vehicles (EVs) and replacing them with gas-powered ones, Breitbart reports.

At the same time, Hertz stated it may also delay the future purchase of EVs from GM and Polestar.

This amounts to a dramatic change when Hertz announced with much fanfare that it was purchasing 100,000 EVs in 2021.

One of the reasons for the sell-off of nearly a third of its EV fleet was due to declining interest in renting electric vehicles. As well, Hertz also cited the dramatic costs associated with repairing EVs after minor accidents, which it said are double that of gas vehicles.

In recent years, there have been several reports of problems associated with EV battery packs as a result of minor accidents that can result in a higher repair bill than it cost to purchase the vehicle.

A Canadian man from British Columbia was recently told that the price to replace the damaged battery pack in his Hyundai was $46,000US ($61,000Cdn). He only paid $41,583US ($55,000Cdn) for the vehicle a little over a year earlier. His battery pack suffered damage due to a minor accident, that he initially hoped to have repaired at his own cost, the Western Journal reports.

After the shocking estimate, the man decided to make a claim to the government-owned car insurance provider, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. The insurance company promptly wrote off the vehicle and then told him that his already expensive insurance premiums could increase by upwards of 50% the next year.

Similar concerns have resulted in a rapid deterioration in the resale/trade-in value of EVs which are now being valued largely on the age and condition of the battery pack rather than the vehicle itself.

RELATED: ‘A Bunch of Dead Robots:’ Frigid Chicago Temps Turn EV Charging Stations into ‘Car Graveyards’