Thrifty Car Rental Signs European Marketing Alliance With ADA and Europa Service
22 May 2000
Thrifty Car Rental Signs European Marketing Alliance With ADA and Europa ServiceIn Addition to Sharing of Customers, Partnership to Result in Thrifty Opening
New Locations in Germany, France and Austria
TULSA, Okla., May 22 Thrifty Car Rental, a subsidiary of
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. , with European partners ADA
and Europa Service, today announced the signing of a two-year European
alliance, agreeing to send reservations and car rental customers to each other
within Europe and through the rest of the world, effective immediately.
As a result, the three companies will have a combined service capacity of
more than 2,200 locations in 66 countries, and a fleet of nearly 120,000 cars
to meet the needs of the growing global travel market.
The agreement, made in conjunction with Flightform Limited, Thrifty's
franchise owner in the United Kingdom, will help Thrifty leverage its presence
in the European market through this affiliation. ADA and Europa Service, two
of the largest players in France and Germany, respectively, together have
1,060 locations and nearly 40,000 cars.
In addition to the marketing alliance, it is anticipated that ADA will
operate 15-20 locations in France under the Thrifty Car Rental brand in cities
that include Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes,
Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse.
Europa Service has also agreed to become the master franchise owner for
Thrifty Car Rental in Germany and Austria, with plans to open three Thrifty
airport locations in Munich, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt by early 2001.
"Thrifty's market presence in Europe has just received a tremendous boost
with the signing of this alliance with ADA and Europa Service," said Don
Himelfarb, President and CEO of Thrifty, Inc., the parent company of Thrifty
Car Rental. "Not only will it create significant traffic within Europe that
will be beneficial for all of the parties involved, but it will also cultivate
outbound traffic to the rest of the world. It is also an opportunity for
Thrifty to build and expand its brand in France, Germany and Austria."
ADA is a car rental company in France with 15,000 cars and 450 locations.
Primarily a franchise company, ADA was founded in 1984 and had revenues of
$162 million in 1998. ADA operates in-terminal locations in nearly all of the
major airports in France, including both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.
"We are excited about the possibilities that this alliance will create,"
said Nicolas Rousselet, President Directeur General of ADA. "This will give
us an opportunity to become associated with very well recognized car rental
companies in Europe and increase our presence globally."
Europa Service, based in Dusseldorf, Germany, has 610 locations and a
fleet of 22,000 cars. The company has a solid 15% market share, with revenues
in 1998 of $240 million. Founded in 1965, Europa Service merged with Unix
Rent a Car in 1997 and formed Europa Service Autovermietung AG.
"We look forward to the benefits that this alliance will bring to all of
the parties," said Jens Hilgerloh, President and CEO of Europa Service. "We
will now have the ability to expand our customer reach globally, as well as to
have a market for our outbound customers."
Flightform Limited is the master licensee of Thrifty Car Rental in the
United Kingdom, which operates 85 retail locations with over 7,500 vehicles in
the U.K. "We are excited to have these new partners in France and Germany for
both inbound and outbound business potential," said Robert Burton, Managing
Director of Flightform Limited.
With the alliance and the addition of new locations, Thrifty is located in
Europe in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Thrifty Car Rental, with its affiliate Thrifty Car Sales, is a subsidiary
of Thrifty, Inc. Thrifty Car Rental is one of the world's largest
international car rental franchise networks, consisting of over 1,200
locations in 61 countries around the world. Thrifty Car Sales is a franchised
retail used car sales network with plans to have 60 U.S. locations in the U.S.
by January 2001. Thrifty, Inc. is a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive
Group, Inc.
