FOLLOWING the conclusion of its takeover of the Europcar Mobility Group, Volkswagen – along with consortium partners Attestor and Pon Holdings – said it would accelerate the rental company’s role as a provider of mobility solutions.
Volkswagen said it wants Europcar to be the “cornerstone of Volkswagen’s future mobility platform”.
The offerings would range from car sharing for a few hours to car subscription for multiple months.
It said a pilot phase of mobility services in partnership between Volkswagen, Porsche Bank and Europcar was due to start as early as Q4/22 in Vienna. Hamburg is expected to follow in Q1/23.
In the second half of the decade, Volkswagen expected Europcar to be offering autonomous vehicles.
Christian Dahlheim, CEO of Volkswagen Financial Services, said:
“We are really excited that our customer-centric vision of future mobility materialises with the closing of the Europcar transaction. Its dedicated team brings important capabilities and assets to the table that help us to realise our plans swiftly.
“Our expectation is that by far most people will still prefer individual mobility by 2030, but it will be more about using and less about owning vehicles. Our new mobility platform will perfectly respond to this trend with a highly flexible and convenient offering at our customers’ fingertip. Autonomous vehicles will be the next gamechanger and lift the platform to an even higher level on the way to NEW AUTO.”
In the UK, Staffordshire-based leasing broker CBVC Vehicle Management recently secured fleet management of the Europcar fleet to drive down the company’s CO2 emissions.
CBVC to manage Europcar’s company car fleet with CO2 reduction focus
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
