“The impact of Covid-19 on travel demand was sudden and dramatic, causing an abrupt decline in the company’s revenue and future bookings,” said the company’s statement. It said while it too immediate action in response to the crisis, “uncertainty remains as to when revenue will return and when the used-car market will fully re-open for sales, which necessitated today’s action.”

The filing is arguably the highest-profile bankruptcy of the Covid-19 crisis, which has prompted bankruptcies by national retailers like JCPenney, Neiman Marcus and J.Crew, along with some energy companies such as Whiting Petroleum and Diamond Offshore Drilling. But none of the companies to file so far have had such as large a share of their industry as does Hertz, which along with rivals Avis Budget (CAR) and privately held Enterprise dominate the rental car industry.