L- R: Marcus Bernhardt, managing director international coverage, Europcar Mobility Group,  Fabrizio Ruggiero, deputy CEO, Europcar Mobility Group, Rajesh Loomba, managing director, ECOS (India) Mobility & Hospitality and Aditya Loomba, joint managing director, ECOS (India) Mobility & Hospitality

The French car rental company Europcar Mobility Group announced its new strategic partnership with ECO Rent a Car in India. With this partnership, ECO customers will now be able to access Europcar’s global car rental services directly from ECO’s website. In the same way, Europcar customers will have access to ECO’s premium services through Europcar’s website and will be able to either rent a car or book a chauffeur driven service in India.

This new partnership will enable Eco Rent a Car to offer their services in India with their self-drive and chauffeur-driven products under the aegis of a global brand. For this, Eco will be making various technology and service enhancements to its current product. At the same time, Eco’s customers will also see the comfort and familiarity of the Eco brand embedded in over 3,700 rental stations in over 130 countries across the globe.

Efficient and optimised shared mobility is one of the largest areas of investment globally. Renting cars – with or without drivers is considered to be the fastest disruptor to car ownership in the world today. Millennials are moving away from car ownership and the associated liabilities and headaches of ownership to renting cars. 

Speaking about the joint venture,  Fabrizio Ruggiero, deputy CEO, Europcar Mobility Group, said, “We are delighted to enter the Indian market in partnership with ECO Rent a Car. Having collaborated with the company, they were our first choice as partners as we share the same vision, mission, and functionality. The Indian car rental market has a lot of potentials and is growing at a brisk rate. The mobility business in India grew with a CAGR of 24.6 percent from FY15 to FY19. With this venture, we aim to propel the growth and development of this industry in India and abroad.”

Rajesh Loomba, managing director, ECOS (India)mobility and hospitality, said, “We feel proud to be the first Indian car rental company to partner with an international brand which will embed the Eco Rent a Car brand in over 3700 locations across 130 countries. While the global car rental market is expected to register a CAGR of 17.52 percent during 2018-2023, this partnership with Europcar, Europe’s largest and the world’s third  largest car rental and mobility group will bring global standards to India for the 9 m + people travelling to India every year and at the same time give the 22m + Indians now travelling across the world the comfort to connect with the Europcar brand in India and book their favourite Self Drive cars with confidence. We, however, look to grow beyond cars to cater to the entire mobility needs of our customers who may be institutions, individuals or even Public transport. Technology and a shared value for a fanatical zeal for quality are what will make us the first choice for our customers.”