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Car wars


Why has car rental transformed into offering mobility solutions? Some key players explain


By BETTY LOW


of moving people.” Car rental companies are now making the


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same transition in mindset. They no longer only offer access to cars to hire at the airport; they’re talking about mobility solutions. “People are increasingly looking for


variety in their programmes and not just a way of fulfilling one function,” says Rob Ingram, director of business rental EMEA for Enterprise Holdings. It’s a sentiment echoed by Europcar’s UK managing director Gary Smith who says: “The car business is broadening out. What


86 BBT March/April 2018


NCE UPON A TIME someone from British Airways proclaimed: “We are not in the airline busi- ness. We are in the business


we’re seeing in consumer behaviour is that car-sharing and on-street access is starting to erode car rental, and there’s also an increase in ride-hailing.” The market for car rental is indeed changing and hire companies now offer a variety of solutions as standard to address their corporate clients’ needs.


SUPPLIERS’ SOLUTIONS 1 Car-sharing Car-sharing, or carpooling, started life as a motor vehicle version of hiring a DVD. Renting was no longer just a financial alter- native to owning – you paid for a period of use, not for access at any time. In car-sharing you pay only by use. The clock starts ticking when you access, electronically or remotely, a vehicle; it stops when you stop.


Car-sharing fulfils an important function.


Both public sector organisations (hospitals, public authorities and universities) and private businesses have employees who must move from one site or point to another, and self-drive is often the most feasible option. Short, local trips require short-term access rather than the more comprehensive option of a rental car. “Many companies use it in place of a pool car,” says Ingram. Chris Rusden is senior vice-president in-


ternational at Hertz, which was a car-sharing pioneer when it launched Connect almost ten years ago. It has since been rebranded as 24/7. Rusden believes it is an important part of the ground transport product mix. “A huge number of people could be making short trips out of head office. A company that is out of the way might spend a lot of


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