Avis Car Rental
![]() | |
Type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Car rental |
Founded | 1946Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States | in
Founder | Warren Avis |
Headquarters | Parsippany, New Jersey, United States |
Number of locations | 5,500[1] (2019) |
Areas served | 165 countries[1] |
Key people | Joe Ferraro, CEO and President |
Revenue | US$5.3 billion[2] (2019) |
Owner | Avis Budget Group |
Website | www |
Footnotes / references [1][2] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Avis_logo.svg/220px-Avis_logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Dodge_RT_Grand_Caravan_Avis.jpg/220px-Dodge_RT_Grand_Caravan_Avis.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Toyota_Coaster_%28Front_view%29.jpg/220px-Toyota_Coaster_%28Front_view%29.jpg)
Avis is an American car rental company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, United States.[3] Avis, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental and Zipcar are all units of Avis Budget Group.[4]
Avis Budget Group operates the Avis brand in South Africa, North America, South America, India, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2011, Avis announced it was acquiring Avis Europe plc,[5] which had been a separate corporation licensing the Avis brand.
Since the late 1970s, Avis has featured mainly General Motors (GM) vehicles such as Chevrolet and Cadillac, but today also rents popular non-GM brands including Ford and Toyota.[6][7]
Avis is a leading rental car provider to the commercial segment serving business travelers at major airports around the world, and to leisure travellers at off-airport locations. Many of the off-airport locations are franchised operations rather than company-owned and -operated, as is the case with most airport locations. Avis was the first car rental business to be located at an airport.[8]
In January 2013, the company agreed to acquire Zipcar for $491 million.[9]
History[]
The company was founded in 1946 with three cars at Willow Run Airport,[10] Ypsilanti, Michigan, by Warren Avis (August 4, 1915 – April 24, 2007).[8] It established branch operations across the United States over the next few years, becoming the second largest car rental company in the country by 1953. By its tenth anniversary in 1956 it had opened its first international offices in Europe, Canada and Mexico.
The Avis corporate motto of "We Try Harder" was adopted in 1962,[11] during CEO Robert Townsend's tenure. The company aimed to put a positive spin on Avis' status as the second largest car rental company in the United States while also taking a shot at larger competitor The Hertz Corporation. The slogan was used for 50 years before a re-branding in 2012, when Avis unveiled a new slogan—"It's Your Space."[12]
In 1972, Avis introduced Wizard,[13] the first computer-based information and reservations system to be used in the United States car rental business; to this day, almost all frequent Avis customers are identified by their unique "Wizard number". In 1981, the company instituted its system of vehicle tracking, that was named Advanced Vehicle Identification System (AVIS).
Avis has been owned by a number of other companies over the years, along with several periods of being a public company. These include:
- 1956: The Amoskeag Company
- 1962: Investment group Lazard Freres
- 1965: ITT Corporation
- 1977: Norton Simon
- 1983: Esmark
- 1984: Beatrice Foods
- 1986: Investment firm Wesray Capital Corporation[14]
- 1987: Majority ownership under an Employee Share Ownership Plan
- 1989: General Motors (acquires 29% stake)
- 1996: HFS Corporation
- 2001: Cendant[15]
- 2006: Avis Budget Group[16]
See also[]
- Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, British peer and former CEO and COO.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Corporate Profile". Avis Car Rental. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "SEC Filings: 10-K 2019". Avis Budget Group. February 20, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ "Corporate Facts." Avis Rent a Car System. Retrieved on June 14, 2009.
- ^ Group, Avis Budget. "Avis Budget Group :: Home". www.avisbudgetgroup.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Nicholson, Chris V. "Avis Budget to Buy Avis Europe for $1 Billion". DealBook. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Kyle Hyatt. "Toyota helps Avis smarten up its operation with 10,000 connected cars". Road Show. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ David Silver. "As Car Rental Changes, Avis Bets On Empowering The Customer". Forbes. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Car-Rental Pioneer Avis Dies at 92, Morning Edition, April 25, 2007
- ^ "Avis Budget Makes $491 Million Offer to Acquire Zipcar". Bloomberg. January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- ^ Business Superbrands, Editor: Marcel Knobil, Author James Curtis (2000), Superbrands Ltd. ISBN 0-9528153-4-6, p. 18.
- ^ Cross, Mary (2002). A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture. Greenwood Press. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-0313314810. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- ^ Booth, Darren (August 31, 2012). "Is Avis 'Trying Hard' Enough With New Slogan?". CNBC. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ ABG. "Historical Chronology". www.avis.com.au. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Cole, Robert J. (April 30, 1986). "Wesray Gets Turn at Owning Avis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ McDowell, Edwin (July 2, 1996). "HFS Will Acquire Employee-Controlled Avis for $800 Million in Cash and Stock". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ "Avis Budget Group". Forbes. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
Further reading[]
- Michael Kinsley (May 16, 2007). "We Try Harder (but What's the Point?)". The New York Times.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avis Rent A Car System. |
- 1946 establishments in Michigan
- American companies established in 1946
- Avis Budget Group
- Car rental companies of the United States
- Companies based in Nassau County, New York
- Franchises
- Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
- Retail companies established in 1946
- Transport companies established in 1946