National Car Rental Expands Presence in Europe
2 July 1999
National Car Rental Expands Presence in Europe
MINNEAPOLIS--July 1, 1999--Company's Aggressive Global Growth Plans
National Car Rental today announced that it has strengthened its presence in Europe with its expansion into Italy and Greece, raising the number of National Car Rental locations in Europe, one of the Company's key markets, to nearly 1000. In addition, the Company announced plans to expand into Portugal later this summer.
Today National Car Rental began serving customers in Greece at five international airports and in several dozen key locations throughout the Greek mainland and islands. National has signed a license agreement with Eurolease S.A., operator of Daily Rental and division of Inchcape Holding Hellas S.A., the leading automotive company in Greece.
National's expansion into Greece follows its announcement in March that it would begin operations in Italy serving customers at 120 locations and 23 international airports. National Car Rental's license partnership is with Maggiore Car Rental, the leading provider of rental vehicles in Italy.
"Our recent expansion activities are further confirmation of our aggressive plans to rapidly grow our operations internationally and solidify our leadership position as a global player in Europe," said National Car Rental president Bob Briggs.
According to Briggs, National Car Rental plans to grow its operations in Greece and Italy and continue its globalization strategy through acquiring companies, signing licensees or growing operations organically. Since announcing its global expansion with the acquisition of EuroDollar in late 1997, National Car Rental has established operations in 38 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
"Our goal is to become the global brand of choice for the customers we serve," said Briggs. "Today, vehicle rental in Europe is no longer an occasional luxury but an important tool for conducting business in this global economy. We have made the commitment to be where our customers need us, and that means all over the world."
National Car Rental also said it plans to begin operating in several locations in Portugal in late summer, including on-airport locations in Lisbon, Porto and Faro.
National Car Rental System, Inc. is one of the world's largest vehicle rental companies with more than 3,000 locations serving 75 countries worldwide. For more than 50 years, National's green logo has signified industry-leading service for customers. Based in Minneapolis, Minn., National has more than 17,000 employees and is a wholly owned subsidiary of AutoNation, Inc. , a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based automobile retail and rental company. With more than $16 billion in revenue in 1998, AutoNation ranks 83rd on the Fortune 100.
National Car Rental can be found on the Internet at www.nationalcar.com.