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.

Leading car rental provider, Europcar, has won a new contract with Advantage Travel Centres, the biggest central service provider to business and leisure travel agents. The contract further strengthens the relationship between the two companies which goes back more than 10 years. Advantage and Europcar will work together to promote the car rental company as Elite supplier across the Advantage Travel Centre membership base. Europcar will be the only car rental company to carry this unique status.

For the convenience of our customers, all our vehicles are supplied with a full tank of fuel at the start of the rental. Rental rates do not include the cost of fuel unless expressly stated, so a fuel deposit is taken at the start of the rental which is refunded if the car is returned with a full tank.

The purchase gives Europcar its first direct operations outside of
Europe and enhanced access to the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market

Europcar, the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rental, today announced that it hasEntered into an agreement to acquire the Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries of ECA Car Rental, which operates its “Master Franchise” within the Asia-Pacific region. The acquisition gives Europcar direct operations in markets outside of
Europe for the first time. 

Since 2005, ECA Car Rental has national coverage throughout Australia and New Zealand and oversees franchise operations for 28 other countries in Asia-Pacific. In addition to Australia and New Zealand, ECA Car Rental notably launched the Europcar brand in India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand, with more launches planned this year. 

To complete its network in the region, Europcar has developed specific relationships with local partners, entering the Japanese market in 2006 and China earlier this year. 

With an average fleet of more than 7,000 vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, ECA Car Rental managed over 2 million rental days in 2007, generating AUD 123 million (€75 million) in revenues, an increase of 18% over 2006. 

Salvatore Catania, Chief Executive Officer of Europcar Groupe, declared, “For Europcar, this is an important acquisition in several ways. It is a perfect opportunity to enhance our brand and expand a profitable business from a strong existing base. It also provides Europcar with direct access and in-house expertise in the Asia-Pacific region, which is the fastest-growing market in the car rental business.” 

In keeping with the company’s strategy of expanding its global footprint through organic and external growth, this acquisition is the 5^th for Europcar in the past two years. In 2007, the company integrated Vanguard’s National and Alamo brand activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and acquired Betacar, which serves the Canary and
Balearic Islands. In 2006, Europcar strengthened its position in Belgium and Spain, respectively, through the acquisitions of Keddy and Ultramar. 

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ABOUT EUROPCAR

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