Europcar has signed an agreement with Vanguard Car Rental Holdings to acquire their European brands ” National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car ” for ”670m ($859m). Through its two car rental operations Vanguard EMEA has a fleet of 43,000 vehicles in the UK, Germany and Switzerland, with further franchise operations elsewhere in Europe, all of which will be acquired by Europcar.
Vanguard has also agreed to a transatlantic partnership with Europcar that will enable the European car rental company to offer interational services to its customers (namely North America), via the National and Alamo brands. The loyalty programmes for both Europcar and Vanguard have also been harmonised.
Europcar Groupe chairman Xavier Marin said: ”Within six months of its acquisition, and with the support of its new shareholder Eurazeo, Europcar is achieving two major milestones in its development: first, the group becomes the leading car rental operator in the UK market, thereby considerably strengthening its position as the largest car rental company in Europe. Second, the strategic alliance with Vanguard enables Euopcar to become a worldwide car rental player by offering its clients access to one of the United States” and Canada”s premier networks.”