![Toyota Coaster (Front view)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Toyota_Coaster_%28Front_view%29.jpg)
Avis Car Rental is an American
car rental
A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches (which allow a user to ...
company headquartered in
Parsippany, New Jersey. Avis,
Budget Rent a Car
Budget Rent a Car is an American car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin. Budget is a subsidiary of the Avis Budget Group, with its operations headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.
History ...
,
Budget Truck Rental
Budget Truck Rental is the second largest truck rental company in the continental United States, with around 2,800 locations and 32,000 trucks across the country. Budget Truck Rental is owned and operated by Avis Budget Group, which was spun off ...
and
Zipcar
Zipcar is an American car-sharing company and a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group. Zipcar provides vehicle reservations to its members, billable by the minute, hour or day; members may have to pay a monthly or annual membership fee in addition ...
are all units of
Avis Budget Group
Avis Budget Group is American car rental agency holding company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is the parent company of several brands including Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental, Payless Car Rental and Zipca ...
.
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, 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
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
.
Avis is a rental car provider to the commercial segment serving business travelers at major airports internationally, 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.
In January 2013, the company agreed to acquire Zipcar for $491 million.
History
The company was founded in 1946 with three cars at
Willow Run Airport
Willow Run Airport is an airport in Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation. Due to its very close proximity to Detroit Metropolitan Ai ...
,
[''Business Superbrands'', Editor: Marcel Knobil, Author James Curtis (2000), Superbrands Ltd. , p. 18.] Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan.
As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, an ...
, by
Warren Avis (August 4, 1915 – April 24, 2007).
[Car-Rental Pioneer Avis Dies at 92]
''Morning Edition'', April 25, 2007 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
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
The Avis
corporate
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
of "We Try Harder" was adopted in 1962, 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 Hertz Corporation is an American car rental company based in Estero, Florida. The company operates its namesake Hertz brand, along with the brands Dollar Rent A Car, Firefly Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental.
It is one of the three big re ...
. The slogan was used for 50 years before a re-branding in 2012, when Avis unveiled a new slogan—"It's Your Space."
In 1972, Avis introduced Wizard, 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
Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion.
...
* 1983:
Esmark Esmark is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Birgitte Esmark (1841–1897), Norwegian malacologist
*Jens Esmark (1763–1839), Danish-Norwegian mineralogist, study of glaciers
* Lars Mathias Hille Esmark (1908–1998), Norwegian ...
* 1984:
Beatrice Foods
Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...
* 1986: Investment firm
Wesray Capital Corporation
Wesray Capital Corporation was an early private equity firm focusing on leveraged buyout investments. The firm was founded by former US Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon and former New Jersey Nets owner Ray Chambers.
The firm is known ...
* 1987: Majority ownership under an
Employee Share Ownership Plan
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...
* 1989:
General Motors (acquires 29% stake)
* 1996:
HFS Corporation
* 2001:
Cendant
Cendant Corporation was an American provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, it broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses. Although it was based in New Yo ...
* 2006:
Avis Budget Group
Avis Budget Group is American car rental agency holding company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is the parent company of several brands including Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental, Payless Car Rental and Zipca ...
See also
*
Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge
Colin Marsh Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge (16 November 1933 – 5 July 2012), was a British businessman and member of the House of Lords.
Early and family life
Marshall was educated at University College School, an independent schoo ...
, British peer and former CEO and COO.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
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