Articles tagged “zipcar”

Avis Budget Group's rental business in the U.S. was unexpectedly weak in early 2016. The good news is that a European car rental resurgence seems to be in the offing for the company.

The Avis Budget CFO said its core business and Zipcar haven't felt a major impact from ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. When the punch eventually comes it could be Zipcar that takes the body blow.

You gotta love it when big companies speak of "tuck-in" acquisitions. One acquisition that Avis Budget is close to nailing would be for more than $50 million, and that's larger than its acquisition of Payless last year. Small, inconsequential stuff in the world of Avis Budget, and M&A.

In certain settings and circumstances, and that includes airports and business travel usage, Zipcar is turning out to be an attractive option. Hey, even AARP members are getting on board.

Zipcar accounted for only about 3.6% of Avis Budget Group's revenue in the first quarter of 2014, but Zipcar is growing and the proverbial synergies appear to be kicking in.

Let's see: AvisBudget now realizes 15 months after touting all of the envisioned fleet-sharing synergies with Zipcar that there are costs involved in shuttling the vehicles back and forth between locations? Very curious. One solution is allowing Zipcar to introduce one-way rides, which is a very attractive option for customers regardless.

Sometimes acquired companies transition to the parent company and lose their whole mojo. That doesn't appear to be happening with Avis Budget and Zipcar, which is getting newer vehicles at lower cost, and is positioned to move into new geographies at a quicker pace.

The next step in Zipcar-Avis Budget buddying-up is technology sharing, with Avis Budget cars expected to get a Zipcar refresh. At least that's the plan.

Tourism expanded globally, airlines and rental car companies faced consolidation, guidebook brands were sold off, and travel tech got better: We don't expect these major stories to disappear in the next year and plan on covering where they lead us just as carefully.

If you are a car-rental company, you have to own a car-sharing division, as Enterprise has come to understand. The space is obviously turbo-charged and poised for growth.