Welcome to the new look and design of Fleet Management Weekly. It’s based on reader feedback on news and topics of most interest to fleets. It’s also tied into changes you can see at FMW’s sister publication at Automotive Digest – Dealer Digest Daily. Editorial content has been pared down and targeted to professionals leading their organizations during a time of information overload and the growing importance of digital media. We’re getting the latest information and insights from stakeholders in the industry and share it with readers in the most clear and concise format we can find.=
Reading through coverage in the past week, two of the more interesting articles covered the changing role of car rental companies in advanced vehicles, carsharing, and remarketing supply. Enterprise executives think the company is well positioned for the future with autonomous vehicles. The largest car rental company in the world made its way to the top spot providing replacement cars and eventually serving airports, but now sees urbanization as part of its future. “It (driversless cars) takes away any obstacles that are there where you require at least one human being to make the time to pick a customer up,” says Lee Broughton head of sustainability at Enterprise.
Enterprise is also making moves into the carsharing space, opening up in markets like Salt Lake City. Hertz and Avis have been dedicated to carsharing, especially with Avis in its acquisition earlier this year of Zipcar, the largest carsharing service out there. Car rental companies see carsharing as part of the urbanization trend and want to be ready for the future.
Being in different modes of ground transportation can also be good for remarketing for car rental companies, according to David Wyshner, CFO at Avis Budget Group. The company is moving cars between its brands to keep them well utilized and income producing. Customers have different driving needs at Avis, Budget, its recently acquired Payless Car Rental subsidiary, and at Zipcar. It’s not causing excessive wear and tear and diminishing resale values, Wyshner said.
The average age of its fleet vehicles is seven months and 85% of the fleet has fewer than 25,000 miles. Prices for 40,000 vehicles it sold last quarter were in line with the company’s expectations, he said. Avis Budget Group is selling about half its used units at auctions; the other half is being sold directly to dealers and consumers, a more profitable path for the car rental company.
