In a rapidly warming world where everyone is scrambling to reduce their carbon footprints and electric mobility is a rising force, the car rental market is an obvious arena for change.
With that shift comes great opportunity and it’s one Europcar Australia is expertly seizing.
“One of the main ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint is undoubtedly by increasing the proportion of EVs offered to our customers,” CEO Benoit Garel tells The CEO Magazine.
“Customers are able to use myEuropcar as a trial, seeing how an EV would work for their day to day life before making the commitment.”
“In Australia and New Zealand, we have rolled out a number of electric vehicles into the fleet.”
Europcar has been bringing on a wide range of EV makes and models into its fleet in order to cater to growing demand and the diverse needs of its customers.
But making the transition in a way that is economically viable has long been a conundrum for many players in the space. Not only is the cost of procuring an electric fleet higher than internal combustion engine vehicles, but the expected value of resale is less certain.
Overcoming Barriers
It’s a gap that Garel expects to shrink over the coming years. In the meantime, Europcar has found support in the form of Federal Government funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), enabling it to accelerate the rollout of EVs as well as the public adoption of this cutting-edge form of transportation.
“We recognize that there remain some barriers for customers to rent EVs in Australia, particularly if they have had limited exposure to them. One of the things we’re doing to address this is to allow customers, without any cost, to return the vehicles without recharging them,” Garel explains.
“This funding with ARENA enables Europcar to invest in charging infrastructure at 41 of our locations across Australia over the next three years, which allows us to charge a larger fleet of EVs and provide the option to customers.”
“Ultimately, we want to provide products and services to our customers that are of value and drive a desire to come back to Europcar for all their mobility needs.”
On a typical business trip, customers rent a car for two-to-three days and drive far fewer kilometers than the EV range, he adds.
“This completely circumvents the time and cost of refueling or recharging the vehicle which, for me as a person that has limited spare time when traveling, is a significant benefit from a time and cost perspective, in addition to the benefit this has in zero emissions,” he points out.
The company plans to operate its EVs for two years before reselling them through its dealer network, boosting the number and variety of second-hand EVs in the market and therefore lowering the cost barrier for EV uptake in Australia.
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Meanwhile, Europcar is forging ahead with its global Exceed strategy which is designed to provide a ‘more premium’ experience for its customers in every aspect of its offering – booking, station experience and the vehicles themselves.
“Ultimately, we want to provide products and services to our customers that are of value and drive a desire to come back to Europcar for all their mobility needs, while being active promoters to their networks,” Garel says.
“From a vehicle perspective, we aim for a little over 10 percent of the fleet to be prestigious. Beyond that, with the core fleet needs, particularly with vehicle supply returning to normality post-pandemic, we continue to work with original equipment manufacturer partners to ensure we have the newest, safest and most in-demand products available.”
Breaking with Tradition
This approach is proving more important than ever as customers continually seek out mobility solutions beyond simple car ownership. It’s in response to this trend that Europcar has also launched subscription service myEuropcar.
“While we know a majority of Australian and New Zealand households own a car, customers often need secondary solutions, be it needing a replacement while their own car is out of action, dealership delays, or needing an additional car within the family,” Garel explains.
“Our myEuropcar product allows customers the flexibility of subscribing to a car for one, three- or six-month durations, with the ability to extend as they see fit.”
“While we know a majority of Australian and New Zealand households own a car, customers often need secondary solutions.”
The response has so far been strong in the Australian market with many customers that have tried myEuropcar extending their subscription to more than eight months, he reports, and others eschewing buying a car completely by using the product long-term.
“We have also noticed that in the shift towards EVs, customers are able to use myEuropcar as a trial, seeing how an EV would work for their day-to-day life before making the commitment,” he confirms.
The company will continue to develop the product over the coming years as part of its commitment to providing alternative access to mobility.
For Garel, it’s all about building an energy around the innovative options Europcar is bringing to the Australian market.
“I love driving and I want our customers to be excited each time they rent with Europcar that they’ll have a wonderful driving experience, matched with great service,” he says.
