As compiled by South Africa Travel Online |
News & history.
2013-12-09. "Europcar extends its condolences & sympathy to the family and the nation on the passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Together with all South Africans & people around the world, we are deeply saddened by his passing and pray that he may rest in peace. As the country moves into its mourning period, Europcar expects an increase in demand, particularly in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape which will host the state funeral and burial service. We expect thousands of visitors from within South Africa and around the world. This demand coincides with the start of the annual holiday period. To accommodate this and to support the country as it hosts the world once again, Europcar is increasing the capacity of its fleet by reallocating fleet from low demand regions, bringing forward vehicle orders and sub-hiring in additional vehicles wherever possible. We believe that we have sufficient capacity to accommodate our normal demand from customers, particularly in the smaller vehicle groups. However, in the luxury and people carrier categories we expect supply will be constrained as there is huge government demand for these vehicles to accommodate the state visitors. Europcar do not foresee any issues with meeting existing reservations and all bookings will be honoured. For new bookings, we do not anticipate issues with meeting normal booking requirements. We would, however, encourage you to make your reservations as soon as possible to secure your vehicle. Europcar requests your understanding if we are not able to accommodate your requests for luxury & people carrying vehicles but we remain committed to source these wherever possible. Thank you for your continued support. Your personally, Martin Lydall, Chief Operating Officer."
2013-10-02 Hubert Brody, the head of Imperial Holdings, Europcar's parent company in South Africa, announces that he is resigning in the first half of 2014. He wants to spend more time with his family.
2013-08-21 Europcar, released their results yesterday as part of the Imperial Group (remember they used to be called Imperial Car Rental, and still supply the mints in their vehicles) : "The Car Rental business had a very good second half and achieved a satisfactory result for the year, despite tough trading conditions in the car rental industry. Revenue growth was encouraging as both revenue days and revenue per day grew. Utilisation also improved from the first half and Auto Pedigree had an excellent year. Revenue and operating profit were up 10% and 6% respectively...Competitive trading conditions persisted in the car rental market which has seen rental rates remain under pressure. The impact of a change in revenue mix (increase in insurance replacement business), higher accident rates and hail storms during the year had an adverse impact on operating margins....Revenue growth was encouraging in the car rental business as revenue days and revenue per day increased by 3% and 1% respectively. The revenue per day was impacted by the change in mix due to the growth in the replacement business. Revenue per day grew by 3% if the replacement business is excluded. Utilisation improved from the first half and was in line with the prior year at 70%. This was achieved despite the increase in the number of vehicles at the panelshops following the damage caused by hail storms during the year. The average rental fleet size was 3% higher than the prior year. Operating margin showed a slight improvement in the second half of the year but was still lower than the prior year as costs increased ahead of revenue. Accident costs were significantly higher in the car rental business when compared to the prior year."
2013-06-11 Advantage Rent a Car & Europcar have entered into a partnership. Advantage customers are to be served by Europcar in South Africa and the rest of the world outside the US, whilst Europcar customers are to be served by Advantage in the United States.
2013-05-21 Europcar starts sponsoring the Springbok rugby team, starting with the Four Nations tournament. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to be associated with the Springboks,” said Dawn Nathan-Jones, CEO of Europcar SA. We aim to keep our brand continually evolving and this is a natural progression from our sponsorship of the HSBC Sevens World Series tournament. We’re also a Proudly South African company and we see the Springboks as the pinnacle of South African sport. The Springboks represent everything South African and creates a spirit that brings our country together.” said the Chief Executive of Europcar South Africa - Dawn Nathan-Jones
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30 Oct 2010 |
Europcar free rental for every 3 booked in South Africa (buy 3 pay for 2). |
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6 Oct 2010 |
Europcar Green Office week in South Africa - Europcar takes the lead sponsor position. |
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2010 |
Europcar SA installs its first eWasha water-recycling bay. |
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1 Jun 2009 |
Imperial Car Rental changes its name to Europcar SA. On 2 June 2009 a rebranding event was held at a hangar at Lanseria Airport Johannesburg, in which Imperial Car Rental officially changed to Europcar SA. One of 3 Europcar branded Kulula planes was revealed (Europcar SA has a relationship with Comair).
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20 Jun 2008 |
Europcar International receives a certificate from the Bureau Veritas Certification for its "Green Charter". The certification confirms Europcar's commitment to sustainable development. |
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28 Apr 2008 |
Europcar International announces that it has agreed to purchase its Europcar Asia-Pacific franchise (which includes businesses in New Zealand and Australia). Navis Capital Partners is the seller. This will for the first time give Europcar direct access to busineses operating outside Europe (maybe they'll need to change their name!) |
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Apr 2008 |
Europcar announces plans to roll out a carbon offsetting scheme in 2008. The scheme will be voluntary, but Europcar expects some 5% of its clients to opt in. |
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Apr 2008 |
Europcar has opened the largest car rental location in Europe, close to Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Covering 1.4 hectares and with a 4,500 vehicles, it supports customers looking for Alamo Rent a Car, Guy Salmon Prestige Rental and National Car Rental (i.e. all the Europcar UK Group brands). |
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Mar 2008 |
The fleets of Europcar and National Car Rental have been combined in the United Kingdom, creating the biggest fleet of any car rental group in the UK. |
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Feb 2008 |
The Europcar United Kingdom Group announces plans to provide information to customers on the carbon dioxide emissions of its rental cars. |
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2007 |
Imperial Car Rental and Europcar merge. |
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2006 |
Europcar buys the European operations of Alamo Rent a car and National car rental. |
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1 Jun 2006 |
Volkswagen sells Europcar to Eurazeo, a French investment organisation. |
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1999 |
Dawn Nathan Jones is appointed Europcar CEO. |
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1999 |
Volkswagen purchases the Accor Group's stake in Europcar. |
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1998 |
Europcar purchases British Car and Van Rental. |
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1996 |
Europcar South Africa is launched. |
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1992 |
The Accor Group purchases the Wagon-Lits Group, in the process becoming a 50% owner of Europcar. |
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1988 |
The Wagon-Lits Group purchases Europcar, which in turn sells half its stake to Volkswagen. |
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1981 |
Europcar purchases Godfrey Davids, the largest car hire company in Britain. |
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1981 |
Europcar International is formed, acting as a holding company for international franchises of the Europcar brand. |
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1974 |
Europcar expands into Britain, Italy, Portugal and Spain. |
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1973 |
Europcar expands into Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. |
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1970 |
Renault purchases L'Abbonement Automobile from the Mattei Group. |
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1949 |
L'Abbonement Automobile is founded in Paris as part of the Mattei Group, with the idea being to provide vehicles for rental without chauffeurs. |
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