Mileage Business...(20/7)

The change of ownership was done, and now Europcar becomes a French company...previously belonged to the Volkswagen group, the car rental company was successfully transferred to Eurazeo, an independent French investment group. So, perhaps we may see more Peugeot or Renault than Volkswagen at the carparks of Europcar in future ;p
Apparently, the car rental business in France is dominated by a few car groups namely Avis (General Motors), Hertz (Ford), National Citer (Citroën), Renault Rent (obviously the subsidiary of Renault), Sixt (the German rep of rental business), Alamo (US company who shares a pie of the French rental business) and Ada (a local rental company) in addition to Europcar etc. Per my experience, Hertz offers quite favourable rental rate for cars departing from Paris, particularly for long distance drive, though the package often excludes insurance charge etc. Indeed, as the centre of the transportation system in France (and perhaps an intersection of the western part of Europe), car rental is quite a profitable business, and varying from the accessibility and the demand of rental cars and vehicles, the charge is quite different from cities to cities. Europcar, though converted itself from a German to a French, needs not offer the cheapest package for the French users. But as an international company, its presence in 145 countries has offered its capacity as a very competitive supplier for French users outside the hexagon. Its rental package, for example, is more attractive for the French to pick up the vehicles in countries like Slovakia. Of course it is always less expensive if you opt for a local car rental company, but then it becomes a game of cost and risk.
Unlike the service network in Europe, car rental business is less systematic in China and Hong Kong. And when I try to recall a car rental company in Hong Kong, I fail. Yes, it is just too convenient for transportation in Hong Kong, but with an eye pointing to China and the fact of an increasing traffic flow between cities in China, it could be a huge potential to be developed soon.