As the car sharing business space opens up, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has announced the acquisition of City Car Club, a major UK car sharing enterprise.
Enterprise said that it is already one of the UK’s largest ‘car sharing’ providers to the public sector under the Enterprise CarShare brand and that the acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, strengthens its position as a “leading player in the UK’s sharing economy”.
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Enterprise CarShare is currently operational across public sector organisations throughout the UK, but City Car Club is aimed at private and corporate renters.
The agreement covers all of City Car Club’s assets, including its 800+ vehicles, 45 employees and 30,000 members. Its vehicles are available to members 24 hours a day, seven days a week in 17 cities around the UK.
In the immediate short-term, the Enterprise CarShare and City Car Club businesses will continue to operate as two separate brands, with a view to creating a combined entity in the future.
Enterprise vice-president, Brian Swallow, said: “This is an exciting time for mobility businesses such as Enterprise. We see the acquisition of City Car Club as a way of extending our service to business and private motorists looking for flexible travel options.
“As a privately owned business City Car Club already shares many of our values – in particular, our enthusiasm for innovation that genuinely drives customer service and delivers against customer needs. City Car Club even uses the same type of in-car technology as Enterprise CarShare.
“Beyond the government’s stated aim to enhance the sharing economy, people and businesses are turning to rental as a simple and environmentally-responsible way of making journeys. Enterprise aims to provide all varieties of mobility and car sharing is an increasingly important part of the mix, particularly in cities.
“Currently the Enterprise CarShare service is targeted at business users and our data shows that this is as important a market for car sharing in the UK as demand from city dwellers. However, the acquisition of City Car Club allows us to offer that same level of service, flexibility and convenience to private renters as well.”
