Kemwel is an independent
car rental consolidator based in
Portland, Maine, United States, with access to over 750,000 vehicles 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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and worldwide from over 4,000 pick up locations.
Background
The company dates from 1908 as a parking garage in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, but became a
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
dealer, then, finally in 1958, a
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
dealer. It was the addition of the Mercedes line that prompted the owner to branch out into rental vehicles.
Due to Mercedes' insistence that buyers come to the factory in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to buy the vehicles at a discounted price, once there, the
customer
In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for ...
s usually had to wait while the vehicle was being built. Most of these clients needed
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
, so the idea to branch out into car rentals was born and implemented.
In 2001, Kemwel moved to Portland, Maine. It is a sister company to
Auto Europe. Kemwel focuses now on low-cost and student car rentals,
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
short term car leasing, and budget
airfare An airfare (otherwise known as a fare) is the fee paid by a passenger for air transport and is made up of the charge for a passenger to fly from an origin to destination and includes the conditions, rules and restrictions for travelling on the airfa ...
.
External links
Official WebsiteChauffeur Privé Bruxelles AirportChauffeur ServiceLimo Hire Service
Car rental companies of the United States
Companies based in Portland, Maine
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