THE BATTLE for your business on the streets around you is hotting up. Car clubs are becoming big business, such is their ease and low cost of use.
And now Zipcar has bought our rival car club Streetcar.
Zipcar said that the deal would create a single, global brand focused on offering more convenience and variety to members. It would also expand the economic and environmental benefits of car sharing through a large scale network across Europe.
“In the near term, the more than 400,000 members of both companies will benefit from more cars, more convenience and enhanced technology,” said Scott Griffith, chairman and CEO of Zipcar.
“In the longer term, when considered along with our investment in the largest car sharing company in Spain in late 2009, this transaction gives us a very strong base from which to expand to additional European markets.”
The Zipcar buys Streetcar deal will see the Streetcar brand disappear as it is subsumed under the Zipcar brand.
Zipcar said that the buyout would benefit both Streetcar and Zipcar members by offering more vehicles, a greater variety of hybrid and other green cars, and more locations. Streetcar members would also have access to Zipcar’s global network of vehicles located in the United States and Canada.
Recently Streetcar increased its car club fleet with the BMW 1-Series available for under £7 per hour.
Car clubs offer a pay on use facility, renting by the hour from a predefined parking bay. At the end of the booked period the car is returned to the bay. It offers small businesses mobility without the overhead of owning or running a business car.