Consolidation in the car rental business continues with major player Hertz acquiring smaller rival Dollar Thrifty for US$1billion.
With the purchase, the firm’s current number of 8,200 locations worldwide grows to 9,800 locations globally.
Mark P Frissora, Hertz chairman and CEO said that the move would allow them “to compete even more effectively and efficiently against other multi-brand car rental companies, offering customers a full range of rental options in the US”.
Hertz has managed to keep its business evenly split between business and holiday, and the purchase of the Dollar and Thrifty brands – whose customers are usually on the lookout for bargains – is expected to strengthen Hertz’s positioning in that segment.
This is not the first time that a smaller car rental company has been swallowed up by a bigger competitor. In 2002, Avis bought Budget and Enterprise bought Alamo and National.
For more details, visit www.hertz.com
Margie T Logarta
