Imperial Car Rental rebrands into Europcar
06. Jun, 2009
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This week, Imperial Car Rental officially changed its name to Europcar making it part of the world’s largest car rental network. The company operated under a dual brand for almost two years while getting ready for the final transition to Europcar. A three year investment of R100 million is being spent on the changeover, covering staff development, technology, IT systems, external communication and the transformation of the company’s infrastructure.
Moving from a trusted and well respected company name with 30 years of valuable brand equity would be considered, by most, as a brave thing to do. Chairman: Car Rental and Tourism division and Executive director of Imperial Holdings, Osman Arbee, explains:
“South Africa is no longer an island at the tip of Africa. So while Imperial Car Rental has undoubtedly performed well in our local market over the past three decades, our vision for future growth over the next decade made it necessary to have a globally unified image.” We will become a global player in name only, not in ownership. Europcar SA will continue to be 100% owned and managed by Imperial Holdings Limited. We look upon this partnership as a South African business using an internationally recognised brand to bring a global service to our customers.”
Arbee continues: “Partnering an international car rental brand was fundamental to the future success of our business. As such, we considered many international franchise options. An influencing factor was our already successful relationship with Europcar International and the fact they are the number one car rental brand in Europe, Australasia, Middle East and Africa and one of the top three car rental companies in the world. In addition, they have acquired Vanguard EMEA, which operates the National and Alamo car rental brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. They have also strengthened their leadership position through an international alliance with Enterprise in the United States, the largest car rental company in the world.”
As the last blue Imperial Car Rental sign comes down, replaced by the globally recognized green Europcar branding, there is a feeling of excitement within the company, and especially for CEO Dawn Nathan-Jones, who has been there since the beginning. In 1979, the fledgling business started out with nine cars and today, 30 years on, it has a fleet of 15 000 rental vehicles, a network of 120 branches and a 32% share of the South African car rental market.
Says Nathan-Jones, “The global brand recognition, credibility and opportunities Europcar has brought to the local operation, so far, confirm we made a good decision and chose the right franchise partner.”
Prior to the merger of the two businesses, Europcar operated in South Africa and focused on the in-bound leisure market, while Imperial Car Rental concentrated on the domestic corporate and leisure market. While both companies performed extremely well in their respective areas, the opportunity for growth was limited, making the strategic decision to merge an attractive one. In May 2007, the brands officially came together with the ultimate goal of repositioning the business under the single brand of Europcar.
The first flagship branch and changeover to Europcar’s global look and feel was unveiled in March 2009 at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Modeled on its global counterparts, Nathan-Jones describes it as a benchmark for all car rental kiosks.
“As different customers have different needs, we try to accommodate all of them. Corporate customers want to get in and out as quickly as possible, so our expedient ‘Ready’ service caters for them. International leisure travellers are not as rushed, wanting to source tourist information, which our Internet, WIFI and refreshment facilities cater for.”
Europcar SA’s management team are committed to establishing a new Green Charter, with initiatives that are, so far, unprecedented in the industry. A new print technology was recently introduced to reach their goal of a 50% reduction in paper consumption.
A carbon offset programme is underway. This will allow Europcar’s customers to contribute to the UK Carbon Trust. Europcar in France has already won the Oxygen Award, on two occasions, for its environmental efforts.
To mark the final stage of the brand changeover, an aggressive advertising campaign has just been launched across Southern Africa, which includes Europcar taking to the skies. A number of Kulula aircrafts have been livered in Europcar branding, which was made possible through their long-term partnership with Comair Limited.
Nathan-Jones is very positive about the future. She says their five-year forecast is optimistic, especially given the country’s imminent hosting of some of the world’s premier sporting events.
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
Interesting, so the rumours from a few months ago were true. Huge decision to give up such a strong brand. Best of luck to the Imperial Group & Europcar.
Exciting Times Ahead!
How refreshing , I have personally visited the Europcar Kiosk and can confirm the claim as the “benchmark for all car rental kiosk”.