"When we acquired Flexcar in 2005, our goal was to bring car sharing to more people in more places," Case said in a statement. In two overlapping markets, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., the combined fleets will offer more cars and more locations to members. Zipcar operates mostly in the East, as well as in London, Vancouver, B.C., and Toronto. will be a significant focus for the company going forward."įlexcar is strongest on the West Coast. "Flexcar will be communicating those changes directly with its employees. "As with any merger, there will be some impacts to the staff," said Flexcar spokesman John Williams. Some jobs may be lost in Seattle as the headquarters moves to the Boston area. He estimates the potential membership in North America at between 1.5 million and 2 million, compared with a total car-sharing membership base of about 200,000 today.įlexcar - which started in Seattle and has more than 20,000 members here - has been controlled since 2005 by Revolution, an investment firm owned by ex-AOL Chairman Steve Case. Griffith said Zipcar has grown more than 100 percent for the last three years running. He would not disclose the firms' revenues. take a little while to get ramped up and profitable," Norman said.
"We really see it as a lifestyle choice for urban dwellers."įlexcar's Norman said the business model for both companies - each private and founded in 1999 - has already proved profitable in their more established markets.īut overall corporate profitability has been pushed out, he said, because both have "invested aggressively in growth," producing "double- and triple-digit" increases in revenue and membership. "More and more people are interested in a sustainable lifestyle and also a hassle-free lifestyle," Griffith said. Flexcar has 89 hybrid vehicles in its 350-car Seattle fleet.
The companies also market themselves as environmentally responsible, by making mass transit a viable option most of the time and reducing unnecessary car trips. Griffith said surveys of its members indicate they save about $5,000 per year by using Flexcar rather than owning a vehicle.
Members typically may use mass transit for work commutes, yet have access to a car when needed without the investment in buying, owning and maintaining their own vehicle.įlexcar users in Seattle pay an annual $35 membership fee, then have access to cars at a rate of $10 an hour. The idea is that people who only occasionally need a car pay a membership fee to have access to cars positioned at fixed locations, typically around downtown or a university campus.Ĭars can be reserved online in advance and are dropped off at the pickup location after use. "This deal accelerates that big idea into the mainstream." The two companies have "pioneered a very interesting big idea," said Griffith. Flexcar CEO Mark Norman becomes president and chief operating officer. Zipcar's chief executive, former Seattle-based Boeing engineer Scott Griffith, will be chairman and CEO. The merged company will keep the Zipcar name and headquarters. The nation's largest urban car-sharing company, Cambridge, Mass.-based Zipcar, is absorbing Seattle-based Flexcar in a move that could hasten the spread of a business whose rapid growth relies on lifestyle marketing as much as its promise to save people money.Įxecutives said Tuesday the two will combine by week's end to create a company three times the size of Flexcar, with more than 5,000 vehicles and 180,000 subscribers in 48 cities.
0 kommentar(er)
