Zipcar, wheels when you want them

Résumé du document

Introduction

Our subject is a growing company which is developing in the face of global competition. This company uses new technologies and the internet to be more successful and to have a sustained growth in the future. We chose this company because we are very interested by environmental issues.

We are going to study how the environment has affected the growth of this company, and then we will talk about the growth of Zipcar. After that, we will present the survey that we conducted in the street; study the different competitors of Zipcar and finally, we will expose the strength, weaknesses opportunities and threats of Zipcar.

I. Major trends of car-rental companies

Since the beginning of the rental car business, a lot of things have changed in our world. Several different trends have significantly affected the market. These include changes in the demography, the economy, transport, technologies and the environment. Firstly, there has been a drastic change in demography in the last few years. The population had expanded very fast, so that the rate of expansion is now 1.14%, which accounts for more than 200 000 more people in the world. Moreover, urbanization is transforming demography too. For example, in the last 30 years, one third of the population has migrated from the country to the city, and the cities have now become bigger.

The effects of this growing urbanization led to the launch of the first car-rental company in 1918, by a company called Hertz. Initially they offered 12 Ford T cars for hire. Subsequently car-rental companies became popular because of the evolution of the population. For instance, it became difficult and increasingly expensive to own a garage in New York City. For instance, people who did not need a car every day were often the first users of the service. Thus a secretary in New York who could not afford buy a car rented on to visit during the holidays.

The growth of car-rental companies were also fuelled by the growth of the economy. 1929 saw the biggest crisis of the century. A lot of people lost their jobs and were not able to buy a car, as they were not able to pay for the oil and insurance. When they needed a car they preferred to rent. In 1973 and 1979, there was the oil recession. Oil became too expensive, and only a minority of the population was able to buy a car. The price for renting a car was more attractive, and companies like Hertz or Avis grew. The last economic crises was in 2008 when oil prices doubled

Development of new types of transport also affected the market. Indeed, the train network in US has never been very well developed, and people must have a car or borrow one in order to travel. Moreover, flights have become less and less expensive over last 30 years, so that more and more people have access to this way of traveling. Yet, when they arrive at the airport, they often have to rent a car, which is why companies invented the fly drive.

The new way of the 21st century is to be concerned about environmental problems. It is better to have a small car with low fuel consumption to reduce pollution. Some car-rental industries like Zipcar have responded to these issues by offering to rent more hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius. Today, 10% of the cars Zipcar offers are hybrid cars . Nowadays, renting a car is very common. Everybody can have access to a Rental car, but it is vital to respect the environment.

Extraits

[...] When did you realize that there was a demand? Zipcar was founded in 1999 by two women from MIT School. They were from Europe and this system has existed in a lot of European countries. What is your position in this business? I'm the general manager DC market. What has been the most important transformation of the company since the beginning? Very interesting question. I don't know if there is one thing I will point out to you. I think it is really continuing to improve. [...]

[...] More than once per month 6. Why did you choose Zipcar? a. Because it is less expensive than owning a car b. Because I don't want to buy a car c. I can hire hourly d. It is close to my home e. it is close to the metro f. Other: 7. Which type of car do you usually rent? a. Small/compact cars b. [...]

[...] But now with Connect by Hertz, you can also rent cars hourly, and most of all it is the same price! Connect by Hertz is strikingly similar to Zipcar, and is already available in New York for example. Moreover, with Conect by Hertz, you also can make your reservation by the net, use your Hertz car to rent the car, drive fashionable car as the mini cooper and the Prius. However, there are still some differences between the two companies. [...]

[...] For instance, people who didn't need a car every day were often the first user. For example, a secretary in New York couldn't buy a car; so, during her holiday month, she rented one to visit. The growth of car-rental companies were also due to the economy. In 1929, there was the biggest crisis of the century. A lot of people lost their jobs and were not able to buy a car, to pay the oil and insurance. When they needed a car they preferred to rent. [...]

[...] Anybody said that they used Zipcar for it cheapness or just because they did not want to buy a car. In those results, it's interesting to see that people are often alone in their Zipcar: three Zipcar users from five are always alone; and two from five are just sometime with other persons. It shows that people more use Zipcars for personal things than for collective. When Zipcars users are not alone, what is not very frequent, we can see that they are with their friends or family in the car, but less with their colleagues. [...]