Volkswagen has completed the sale of its Europcar rental operation for EUR1.26bn (US$1.62 billion) to French investment firm Eurazeo, according to Reuters.

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The sale was officially completed on 31 May and, from 1 June, Europcar is owned by Eurazeo.


Volkswagen began reviewing options for Europcar last September, prompted in part by Ford’s sale of Hertz.


Ford sold Hertz to raise cash, but Volkswagen has insisted that raising cash is not the rationale for the sale of Europcar. Indeed last year the company said it was considering a range of options for the company, including a strategic expansion and an initial public offering.


Volkswagen has also recently divested its IT services unit, gedas, and instrument panel supplier Bordnetze as part of its restructuring programme, but the strategy for the sale of Europcar is not quite so clear.

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Europcar is Europe’s largest vehicle rental agency and is a profitable business. Furthermore it was a ‘captive’ sales outlet for Volkswagen – around a third of its fleet are Volkswagen cars.


As Reuters noted last year, a complete sale of Europcar is puzzling in view of Pischetsrieder’s interest in building a strong position throughout the value chain as part of his stated goal to develop the group as a “mobility service provider”.