Avis Budget Group, Inc.’s (CAR) wholly owned subsidiary, Zipcar declared the addition of a 2014 Honda Fit battery electric vehicle (EV) at The University of California, Davis'(UC Davis), West Village. The college is located to the west of Sacramento.
West Village is the biggest zero net energy region in the U.S. This community has been structured in a way that in the span of a year, its energy consumption and generation have to be at par.
Located at the West Village Square, straight across the region’s other Zipcar location, this new electric vehicle is a low-carbon automobile and hence is likely the answer to the carbon emission problem. These Zipcar vehicles are available for hourly reservations to all its members aging 18 and above, at the rate of a minimum $8.50 an hour.
The introduction of this all electric vehicle is likely to take West Village and UC Davis closer to their target of creating a zero net energy community. With this cost-friendly, long-lasting mode of transport, West Village residents will be able to curtail carbon emissions conveniently. Also, it will require innovations such as solar energy, which is needed to generate electricity to charge this vehicle, which again paves the way for a better future.
Zipcar has its presence in the state since 2009, when it first started its services on the campus of University of California, Davis. In 2010, it expanded its business in the City of Davis and in 2011 it started offering services to the California State University, Sacramento. Further, in Nov 2013, the company announced the expansion of its car sharing services in the City of Sacramento, where it currently has nearly 40 vehicles across 20 locations.
Zipcar operates a car-sharing network and provides self-service vehicles to members in and around their residences and workplaces. The company's vehicles are available for use through its reservation system accessible by phone, the Internet or wireless mobile devices.
Avis Budget acquired Zipcar in Jan 2013 for a total value of $500 million. Following the completion of acquisition, Avis Budget has been aggressively expanding Zipcar’s services at various locations. Since the acquisition, Avis Budget has increased Zipcar’s presence from 20 to 26 major metropolitan markets.
We believe that the acquisition of Zipcar has facilitated this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company to extend its offerings from car rental to car sharing, and has helped it compete better with rivals such as United Rentals Inc. (URI) and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ). The latter has its own car sharing service, Hertz On Demand.
Another stock in the industry looking attractive at current levels is Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM), carrying the same rank as Avis Budget.
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