Europcar, the UK’s leading vehicle rental business and the largest supplier of vans for daily rental has revealed a marked 15% increase in van rentals to consumers year on year.  Whether it’s for a trip to the local dump, storage facilities, to collect or deliver online purchases, or for home moves, the rise in van rentals could be attributed to a growing ‘thriftiness’ amongst UK consumers as the credit crunch continues to bite.   

To support this demand, Europcar has extended its fleet to include 50% more tail lifts – vital for the lone driver needing to transport items to or from home without help.  And to encourage safe driving, Europcar is offering its top tips for van driving:

Europcar’s Top Tips for Van Driving 

Before starting your trip: ·        

- Check your mirrors are all set correctly so that you can see as much as the road as possible.  - Ask someone to guide you out if you need to back out of a space. - Make sure the doors are securely locked at the back or on the side of the vehicle. 

Parents facing the prospect of cramped and cranky kids in over-packed cars this summer are being urged to leave the family run around at home and rent instead. Europcar, the UK’s leading vehicle rental operator offers its top tips for keeping the kids happy in the car and believes parents should be taking advantage of all the benefits of rental in the UK to ensure both they and the kids have a stress free start to the holidays.  

With up to half price rentals available from Europcar until 16^th August* and nationwide delivery and collection to make rental easy for time-strapped parents, car rental not only provides a clean, reliable and spacious car that’s guaranteed to be less than 6 months old, but a safer journey too with less distraction from restless children.

To book log on to www.europcar.co.uk 

END

July 2008 

Notes to Editors 

Owned by the French private equity firm Eurazeo, Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. Since March 2007 with the acquisition of Vanguard EMEA (National & Alamo brands), its network comprises over 5,300 rental outlets in 160 countries. Europcar serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Excluding franchise operations, in 2007 Europcar signed more than 10 million rental contracts, with 7,700 employees and a fleet exceeding 215,000 vehicles.

For more information: www.europcar.com 

For further press information please contact: Dominic Dennis, Madeleine Roles, Elinor Puzey or Alison Reeson at HSL, Churcham House, 1 Bridgeman Road, Teddington,, Middlesex, TW11 9AJ. Telephone: 020 8977 9132 Fax: 020 8977 5200 or email: leisureteam@harrisonsadler.com

Just in time for schools breaking up for the summer, Europcar the UK’s leading vehicle rental company has launched its half price summer promotion to make getting a way in the UK all the more affordable for families hit by the credit crunch.

With the rise in fuel, VED, insurance and finance costs combined with increased household expenses and the credit crunch, more and more consumers are looking for alternatives to car ownership. Whether it’s choosing to downscale the number of cars in the household, opting for a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle or giving up car ownership completely, David Alexander, Operations Director for Europcar, the UK’s leading vehicle rental organisation can comment on the solution vehicle rental offers to those looking for ways to cut motoring costs.

Paris, June 19, 2008 – Europcar International, the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rental, today announced that it has received certification for its “Green Charter,” which formalizes its commitments in favor of sustainable development. It is the first such certification for a company in Europe by Bureau Veritas Certification in the fields of quality, safety, health, the environment and social responsibility.

Paris, June 19, 2008 – Europcar International, the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rental, today announced that it has received certification for its “Green Charter,” which formalizes its commitments in favor of sustainable development. It is the first such certification for a company in Europe by Bureau Veritas Certification in the fields of quality, safety, health, the environment and social responsibility.

The UK’s leading vehicle rental organisation, Europcar UK Group, has appointed Catriona Lougher as Consumer Marketing Director.

A survey of over 300 businesses by leading vehicle rental company, Europcar, has revealed the impact traffic congestion is having on an already struggling UK economy.  Over 70% of businesses said that congestion is impacting the effectiveness of their staff travelling for work and 80% said they felt that congestion on the UK’s roads is getting worse.

42% of respondents comprising fleet managers and travel managers from a range of business sectors estimated that as much as 20% of every business journey was spent in traffic congestion. A further 29% thought the situation was even worse, estimating that as much as 30% of every journey was time lost due to the sheer weight of traffic on the roads.

“Congestion is clearly having an impact on the nation’s economic profitability at a time when businesses are really under pressure to be as cost-effective and efficient as possible,” explains David McNeill, Corporate Sales Director, Europcar. “While significant investment has been made in our road network it simply isn’t enough and the jury’s still out on the Government’s plans for road pricing and High Occupancy Lanes on motorways.  But what is certain is that we drastically need better measures to ease congestion.  Anyone who has been trapped nose to tail on the M25 on a Friday afternoon can’t fail to agree with this view.”

“Certainly at Europcar we are working with customers to address some of these concerns, from identifying opportunities for staff to share journeys and cut fuel consumption to monitoring and managing better use of vehicles.  But what this survey has clearly shown is that we must all take responsibility to identify the ways in which we can reduce congestion on our over-stressed road network.  Challenging times lie ahead and the survivors will be those that tighten their belts and explore all the options to work as efficiently as possible.”

END

June 2008

Notes to Editors

Owned by the French private equity firm Eurazeo, Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. Since March 2007 with the acquisition of Vanguard EMEA (National & Alamo brands), its network comprises over 5,300 rental outlets in 160 countries. Europcar serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Excluding franchise operations, in 2007 Europcar signed more than 10 million rental contracts, with 7,700 employees and a fleet exceeding 215,000 vehicles. For more information: www.europcar.comFor further press information please contact
Alison Reeson, Elinor Puzey or Louise Fowler at HSL, Churcham House, 1 Bridgeman Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 9AJ.  Telephone: 020 8977 9132.  Fax: 020 8 977 5200.  corporateteam@harrisonsadler.com

Europcar is warning travellers planning to drive in some of Germany’s cosmopolitan and buzzing cities that new ‘Green Zones’ have recently been introduced. These require all vehicles to display an ‘environmental badge’ and any vehicle without a badge will be subject to a fine of €40. Importantly this includes vehicles driven cross-border by foreign travellers.

Europcar confirmed today the closing of the acquisition of 100% of the Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries of ECA Car Rental, which operates its “Master Franchise” within the Asia-Pacific region. The acquisition, first announced on April 28, gives Europcar direct operations in markets outside of Europe for the first time and enhanced access to the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market.