With this launch, Minneapolis becomes Zipcar’s 21^st major metropolitan market.

The new Zipcar program will provide, according to the company, the Minneapolis community with access to 40 vehicles located in convenient locations throughout the City, including Dinkytown, Downtown, Loring Park, Northeast, North Loop and Seven Corners.

Zipcar has offered car sharing on the campus of University of Minnesota since 2005, where the carsharing company said it has been extremely well-received by students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the local community.

Zipcar plans to continue to expand operations throughout additional areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul this year, including working with City of Minneapolis officials to establish on-street parking spots.

“I’m very excited to welcome Zipcar to Minneapolis; their expansion in our city is great news for people who want to spend their money on things other than owning a car,” said City of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

In addition to local residents, students and visitors, the Zipcar program in Minneapolis is available to employees of local businesses through the “Zipcar for Business” program that offers discounted driving rates Monday through Friday.

This program helps businesses save money, meet environmental sustainability goals and reduce parking requirements by providing their employees with access to Zipcars for business needs and other uses.

Zipcar currently offers a mix of vehicle types in Minneapolis, including SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, environmentally-friendly hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, hatchbacks like the Ford Focus and Mazda 3 and luxury vehicles like the Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz C300.

Zipcars all have their own individual names, many of which are representative of the cities they hail from. In Minneapolis, Zipcar members can reserve cars like Ford Focus “Superior”, Mazda 3 “Mall”, Ford Escape “Goldy”, or even Audi A3 “Justin”, named after the Twin’s first baseman Justin Morneau or Audi A3 “Joe”, named after Twin’s catcher Joe Mauer.

Zipcar hourly and daily rates include gas, reserved parking spots, insurance and up to 180 miles of driving per day.

Cars can be reserved for as short as an hour or for multiple days.  Zipcar rates on vehicles in downtown Minneapolis start from $8.75 per hour and $72 per day (24 hours).

The post Zipcar Launches In The City Of Lakes appeared first on HybridCars.com.

With this expansion, Zipcar said it is extending its member experience from city streets and college campuses to airport parking lots, giving Zipcar members on-demand access to nearly 10,000 vehicles in 20 cities, at over 300 universities and now in 11 airports, including:

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)
• Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)

The addition of these eight airports comes on the heels of Zipcar’s launch at Newark Liberty (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy (JFK) airports last month.

The company said that nearly two out of three (64 percent) of respondents to a March 2013 Zipcar member survey indicated they were “likely” or “very likely” to use Zipcar at an airport (if available).

“For the past decade, Zipcar has been delivering on our brand promise of ‘wheels when you want them’ to members where they live and work. Now Zipcars are available for members where they travel,” said Zipcar President Mark Norman.  “For short trips where time is money, Zipcar’s on-demand access and fast returns make it an ideal way to get members where they need to be.”

A wide variety of Zipcars, including Mazda 3′s, Toyota Prius and Ford Focus models, are located in Zipcar-branded parking spaces adjacent to the Avis Car Rental pick-up facility at each participating airport.

Zipsters can hit the road immediately after exiting a flight, without any paperwork, lines or extra fees, and enjoy additional time saving amenities such as EZPass readers (where available) for tolls.

The Zipcars in airport locations can be reserved by all Zipcar members ages 21 and up, including residents of those areas near the airport locations, as well as those traveling to the airport.

As with all Zipcar reservations, gas, insurance and 180 miles per day are included. Zipcar vehicles travel round trip, so require pick up and returns to the same location.

The carsharing company said the cost to reserve Zipcar vehicles in airport locations starts from $9 to $12 per hour or from $69 to $89 per day, depending on the location, type of vehicle and the plan of the member reserving the vehicle.

Reservations for all cars are now available.

The post Eight New Airports Part Of Zipcar’s Network appeared first on HybridCars.com.

These first electric vehicles are located at the Portland State University (PSU). Charging stations for the EVs are provided by ECOtality Inc., which is also providing Zipcar members access to the company’s Blink Network of charging stations in Portland during their reservations.

Zipcar did not reveal the exact number of Fit EV incorporated in its Portland fleet.

“We are very excited to introduce Honda Fit EVs into the Zipcar fleet here in Portland. The new EVs add to the selection of smart and sustainable vehicle options Zipcar currently offers, and will help our members further reduce their environmental impact by driving on electricity only,” said Jeremy Nelson, General Manager, Zipcar Portland.

The new Honda Fit EVs are located on PSU’s campus at Parking Structure 1, and are available to all Zipcar members for hourly reservations, starting at $10.25 per hour.

Zipcar said it chose PSU for the location of its first EVs in Portland because of the University’s leadership in environmentally conscious innovations, including its Electric Avenue automotive charging stations on campus.

“Having electric vehicles available at PSU through Zipcar fits perfectly with our sustainability mission,” said Portland State University President Wim Wiewel.  “It’s a clean transportation option that I think our students, faculty and staff are really going to appreciate.”

Through Zipcar’s program with ECOtality, members who reserve Honda Fit EVs in Portland will have full access to ECOtality’s Blink Network of charging stations located throughout the Portland area if they are in need of a charge during their reservation.

Each Zipcar Fit EV is outfitted with a Blink InCard, which provides complimentary access to Blink Network charging stations to charge up, similar to the way gas cards work in other Zipcar vehicles.

“As EV’s enter into mass adoption, innovative companies such as Zipcar allow us to introduce our Blink charging stations to an audience that might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience an EV,” stated Greg Fioriti, Chief Revenue Officer of ECOtality, Inc. “We look forward to working with Zipcar and generating increased awareness of EVs throughout the Portland area.”

Prior to reserving one of the Zipcar EVs, members will have the opportunity to learn more about driving electric vehicles through Zipcar’s member education program. Members can visit www.zipcar.com/portlandev to learn more about the electric vehicles, watch an instructional video, go through a quick orientation process and make a reservation.

Honda’s 2013 Fit EV, based on its five-passenger Fit, earns a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe, and a  consumption rating of just 29 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles.

The  Fit EV features a 20 kilowatt-hour Lithium-Ion battery and relies on a 92 kilowatt AC synchronous electric motor that generates 189 foot-pound of torque.

When plugged in a 240-volt circuit, the Fit EV battery can be recharged in less than three hours.

The post Honda Fit EV Added To Portland’s Zipcar Fleet appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The Avis Budget Group is acquiring Zipcar for $12.25 per share in cash, a 49-percent premium over the closing price on Dec. 31, 2012.

This share price offer brings the total transaction value to approximately $500 million.

Zipcar operates a fleet of various hybrid and conventional cars, mostly of compact and subcompact sizes.

The transaction is subject to approval by Zipcar shareholders and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.

The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, and Zipcar shareholders representing approximately 32 percent of the outstanding common stock have agreed to vote their shares in support of the transaction.

Zipcar says car sharing has grown to be a nearly $400 million business in the United States and is expanding rapidly in major cities around the world. Both companies say Zipcar has led this industry, leading in innovation and world-class service. Zipcar now has more than 760,000 members, known as Zipsters, with a market-leading presence in 20 major metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada and Europe,

Zipcar also has fleets positioned at over 300 college and university campuses. Zipcar says it has combined leading-edge technology, an outstanding customer experience, and clear brand messaging to develop strong loyalty and advocacy among its customers.

“By combining with Zipcar, we will significantly increase our growth potential, both in the United States and internationally, and will position our Company to better serve a greater variety of consumer and commercial transportation needs,” said Ronald L. Nelson, Avis Budget Group chairman and chief executive officer. “We see car sharing as highly complementary to traditional car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company. We expect to apply Avis Budget’s experience and efficiencies of fleet management with Zipcar’s proven, customer-friendly technology to accelerate the growth of the Zipcar brand and to provide more options for Zipsters in more places. We also expect to leverage Zipcar’s technology to expand mobility solutions under the Avis and Budget brands.”

Avis Budget says it expects to generate $50 to $70 million in annual synergies as a result of the transaction.

In particular, Avis Budget says it expects significant cost reductions across the fleet life cycle (from procurement to operations and maintenance to disposition, as well as financing), in addition to savings from eliminating Zipcar’s public-company costs.

Avis Budget also plans to achieve substantial cost savings by increasing fleet utilization across the two companies. Avis Budget believes significant revenue growth opportunities exist, including by leveraging Avis Budget’s fleet to meet more of Zipsters’ weekend demand, which is currently constrained by fleet availability.

“We are delighted to announce our intention to join the Avis Budget Group family of companies, and we believe this combination is a win across the board for our members, shareholders and employees. We will be well positioned to accelerate enhancements to the Zipcar member experience with more offers and additional services as well as an expanded network of locations,” said Scott Griffith, chairman and chief executive officer of Zipcar. “As the leading global provider of car sharing services, with a brand that is synonymous with the category, we remain committed to the values and vision that have driven us forward for many years, grounded by our passion for delivering a superior experience to every member for every trip, every day. By combining Zipcar’s expertise in on-demand mobility with Avis Budget Group’s expertise in global fleet operations and vast global network, we will be able to accelerate the revolution we began in personal mobility.”

Following the acquisition, Zipcar will operate as a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group and will continue with its planned move to new headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.

Avis Budget says it anticipates that key members of the Zipcar management team, including Mr. Griffith and Mark Norman, president and chief operating officer, will continue to set the overall direction and run day-to-day operations of Zipcar.

“Avis Budget’s existing infrastructure, scale and experience with managing multiple brands make us uniquely positioned to accelerate the growth and profitability of Zipcar,” Mr. Nelson added. “At the same time, we are committed to retaining the elements of the Zipcar brand and culture that have allowed Zipcar to achieve such rapid growth and success over the last twelve years.”

Avis Budget Group says it expects to fund the purchase price primarily with incremental corporate debt borrowings, as well as available cash.

Avis Budget Group says it had cash and marketable securities of approximately $554 million as of Sept. 30, 2012. Zipcar had cash and marketable securities of approximately $82 million, or approximately $2 per Zipcar share.

The post Carsharing Zipcar Acquired By Rental Giant Avis Budget appeared first on HybridCars.com.