Sixt Seeking U.S. Buyers Renting Cars In Europe
<B> Sixt Seeking U.S. Buyers Renting Cars In Europe</B>
By Lynn Woods
As part of an ambitious expansion program, European car rental company Sixt Rent a Car is pitching its services to U.S. corporations that have a substantial rental-car business in Europe.
Last November, the German-based company opened a reservations office in Washington, D.C., followed by the opening of a sales office in Los Angeles in March. Subsidiary sales offices are located in the metropolitan New York area and near Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The company also participated in the annual NBTA convention, held in Orlando last August.
While Sixt has not yet signed a contract with a U.S. corporation, other than subsidiaries of German companies with which it already has agreements, it is "following up" on leads and is confident of eventually gaining corporate customers from the states, said Rolf D. Hoehn, Sixt's senior vice president of the Americas, who is based in Los Angeles.
Currently, Sixt has 700 locations in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Except for Ireland, Israel and Italy, where Sixt has licensees, all of these locations are corporate owned.
By the end of the year, Sixt expects to have a presence in every European country, with a total of 1,000 locations.
Unlike many of its competitors, Sixt doesn't levy drop-off charges for most points on the Continent, with the exception of destinations in southern Italy, said Hoehn. It offers self-service kiosks for express service throughout Germany and at major airports and railroad stations elsewhere in Europe.
The express service is just one benefit of the Sixt Express card, which is distributed to corporate or individual business renters.
Sixt participates in airline frequent flyer programs including those of Air France, Austrian carrier Lauda, British Airways and Lufthansa. It also has alliances with the German rail company and Hilton HHonors.
Sixt has a highly diversified fleet. "We have all makes, including off-road vehicles, convertibles and other exotic cars," said Hoehn. The firm boasts the world's largest fleet of Mercede, a total of 35,000 cars, and the maximum age of its 135,000 vehicles is six months.
The oldest car rental company in Europe--it was founded by Martin Sixt in 1912--Sixt is the leader in Germany, with a 35 percent market share and a 42 percent share at the country's airports, Hoehn said. Although publicly held, Sixt is still managed by the Sixt family, which retains a financial interest in the firm. Its CEO is Erich Sixt, a grandson of the founder.
In Germany, the company is known as Sixt Budget, reflecting its partnership with Budget Rent a Car; elsewhere, it's called Sixt Rent a Car.
Hoehn said projected revenues for 1998 are 4 billion marks ($2.2 billion), which includes not only car rentals but also Sixt's leasing and car sales businesses.