CAMBRIDGE, Mass., /PRNewswire/ — Zipcar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIP), the world’s leading car sharing network, today announced the acquisition of Denzel Mobility CarSharing GmbH, a leading car sharing service in Austria, operating under the name CarSharing.at. With this deal, Zipcar continues to grow its car sharing network globally, expanding the company’s geographical footprint further into Europe.
This transaction follows Zipcar’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Barcelona-based Catalunya Carsharing S.A., known as Avancar, in February 2012. The acquisition also comes on the heels of Zipcar’s integration of Streetcar operations in the UK last year and the recent appointment of Frerk-Malte Feller as president of Zipcar Europe.
“The acquisition of CarSharing.at in Austria gives us access to an established car sharing business in a key market with high growth potential,” said Scott Griffith, chairman and CEO of Zipcar. “We believe we can scale the CarSharing.at business in Austria with our technology, car sharing expertise and extensive network. By leveraging opportunities such as this, we continue to execute our plan to grow the car sharing category and build out a leading car sharing network across Europe.”
Denzel Mobility CarSharing GmbH is a leading car sharing service in Austria, with a presence in Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz and other cities across the country. The company currently offers just under 200 vehicles and serves 10,000 members in Austria.
“Vienna is a sophisticated city with great public transit, a government dedicated to sustainability and eco-conscious consumers and businesses. It is a very attractive market for car sharing,” said Frerk-Malte Feller, president of Zipcar Europe. “As the global leader in the car sharing space, we aim to further strengthen the CarSharing.at member experience and technological offerings, and make car sharing a mainstream transport option in Austria.”
According to research by Frost & Sullivan, the market for car sharing in Europe is expected to reach 5.5 million members and has the potential to reach Euro 2.6 billion in revenue.
The acquisition of CarSharing.at is not expected to have a material impact on Zipcar’s 2012 third quarter or full-year financial results.
About CarSharing.at
CarSharing.at is a leading car sharing company in Austria and provides just under 200 vehicles on an hourly and kilometer based rate, with fixed pick-up and return locations. There are around 100 sites in Austria with a strong presence in Vienna. The company serves 10,000 business and individual customers, who have access to the wide range of vehicles from compact to premium class. CarSharing.at successfully entertains co-operations with transportation providers such as ÖBB, Wiener Linien and the main public transport companies in the federal states as well as with large retail group REWE or the Unicredit Bank Austria. More information is available at www.casharing.at.
About Zipcar
Zipcar is the world’s leading car sharing network with more than 700,000 members and 9,000 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and Austria. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car. More information is available at www.zipcar.com. Photos and b-roll footage are available for media purposes at www.zipcar.mediaroom.com.
Zipcar and the Zipcar logo are trademarks of Zipcar, Inc. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including statements with respect to the potential car sharing market in Vienna, our planned build out of a car sharing network across Europe, the continued growth of the car sharing category and our presence across Europe and the market for car sharing in Europe. Among the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include our ability to profitably attract new members and retain existing customers, our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, adverse economic conditions in general and adverse economic conditions specifically affecting the markets in which we currently or in the future may operate, our ability to compete effectively, our ability to expand into new geographic markets, and our ability to manage growth and other risks detailed in our publicly available filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements reflect our expectations only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as reflecting our views, expectations or beliefs at any date subsequent to the date of this release.
SOURCE Zipcar, Inc.
For further information: Karen Drake, Zipcar – Public Relations, +1-617-336-4323, kdrake@zipcar.com; Investor Relations, Jonathan Schaffer, +1-212-871-3953, ir@zipcar.com
