VIDEO
Avis is founded. Find out from Warren Avis himself why opening the first car rental business at an airport turned out to be such a brilliant idea.
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Eric McIllree signs license to start up Avis in Australia.
Morris Mirkin spots a gap in the market and Budget Rent a Car is founded in Los Angeles with a $10,000 investment, and one co-worker — his wife.
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The "We try harder" slogan is launched. Here, its creator explains the thinking behind it, and why it has been called one of the ten best advertising slogans of all time. Watch the full Google Re:Brief video.
VIDEO
Avis expands, creating the Europe, Africa and Middle East division.
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A major technological breakthrough, Wizard, is introduced. It's the first online, reservation, and rental management information system that works in real time.
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Avis becomes the market leader in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, just eight years after Avis Europe was founded.
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Another industry first — Rapid Return — is introduced. It banishes queuing, by allowing customers to return to their cars in under 60 seconds using the latest handheld technology to swipe their car's barcode.
VIDEO
First global agreement between Avis and Qantas.
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Zipcar co-founders Robin Chase and Antje Danielson meet and begin discussing creating a car-sharing service in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Zipcar officially launches in Cambridge, Massachusetts with its first vehicle.
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Zipcar launches its University program, starting with Harvard University.
Avis and Budget join forces to create the second largest car rental company in the world, Avis Budget Group.
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The European Business Support Centre opens in Budapest, offering everything from customer service to finance in 14 countries.
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Zipcar launches Zipcar for Business.
Zipcar merges with car-sharing competitor FlexCar, becoming the largest car-sharing provider in the world.
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Zipcar merges with UK-based Streetcar car club, becoming the first car-sharing company on two continents.
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Zipcar goes public on the NASDAQ, listed as ZIP.
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We completed the acquisition of Avis Europe, previously an independently owned licensee of Avis Budget Group, creating the EMEA Region, which enables us to more effectively serve our customers worldwide.
The Group expands and acquires Zipcar and Payless Car Rental. We are also awarded 'Best Car Rental Company in Europe' at the Business Traveler awards for the 10th year in a row.
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Zipcar acquires fleet management startup LocalMotion, establishing a base of innovation in Silicon Valley.
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Zipcar reaches 1 million members worldwide.
We signed an agreement to offer fleet support and maintenance services for Waymo's self-driving car program at Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental locations.
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We announced our integration with Amazon Alexa, which will allow travelers to book and manage car rental reservations through the popular voice platform on Amazon Echo devices.
We announced the launch of our first "Mobility Lab" that serves as a test bed for fully connected vehicles and operations in the greater Kansas City, Missouri, area.
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