EUROPCAR Group has acquired its Irish franchisee, one of its biggest in terms of revenue which is anticipated to be about 50 million euros in 2016.

The move strengthens its mobility footprint with the acquisition of the car rental and car sharing activities.

Through this acquisition, the group – the European leader in vehicle rental services and a major player in mobility markets – extends its corporate network from nine to ten countries, benefiting from strong leisure flows coming from all its subsidiaries.

Europcar Ireland has a long-established presence and is a leading player in the Irish market. The company has 19 locations for both cars and vans, of which five are on airports, with an average fleet of around 5,000 vehicles.

In 2016, Europcar Ireland should generate revenues of approximately 50 million euros.

In addition to the car rental activities, the group also acquires Europcar Ireland’s car-sharing service that was launched in 2012 under the brand GoCar.

GoCar is Ireland’s market leading car sharing company and operates a fleet of cars and vans throughout Dublin and Cork (around 150 vehicles as of May 2016) offering customers simple and convenient mobility solutions. By end of the year the whole of Ireland will have a connected car fleet.

Caroline Parot, CEO of Europcar Group, explained: “We are delighted with this acquisition as it demonstrates our ability to accelerate and execute our planned acquisition program.

“We are confident that Colm Menton, who will remain in the company, and his management team, will further accelerate the growth of Europcar Ireland. This is also a great opportunity for us to strengthen our leadership in our core European market.

“Finally, we are particularly pleased as this is not only the second major franchisee acquisition we announce since our IPO in June 2015 but also a promising investment into new mobility services.”

Colm Menton, CEO of Europcar Ireland, said: “We are very excited to become part of the Europcar Group and believe this offers us a strong competitive advantage to continue our growth in Ireland and increase our market share.

“This will also be of tremendous benefit to our staff and today’s announcement is testament to their hard work and dedication. We have huge admiration for what the Europcar Group has achieved and joining the global operation marks the next chapter of our growth and development.”