Volkswagen finalises acquisition of Europcar, plans to introduce autonomous vehicles from 2025

UPDATE, July 7, 2022: Volkswagen finalises acquisition of Europcar

A consortium led by the Volkswagen Group has officially acquired rental car business Europcar, almost a year after the first offer was tabled.

After the Volkswagen Group and a number of partners put forth an offer to buy Europcar last year, the consortium has now taken a 94 per cent stake in the rental company, with Volkswagen holding 67 per cent.

An integral part of the manufacturer's 'New Auto' strategy, Volkswagen will offer tailored mobility services for customers through a single app – providing car rental and subscription to car-sharing and ride-hailing – which is set to be trialled in Vienna this year and Hamburg in 2023.

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On top of this, Volkswagen's autonomous vehicle projects are expected to be integrated into Europcar's operations from 2025, with testing of its autonomous ID. Buzz currently underway in Munich and Hamburg.

“We are really excited that our customer-centric vision of future mobility materialises with the closing of the Europcar transaction," said Volkswagen Financial Services CEO, Christian Dahlheim.

"Its dedicated team brings important capabilities and assets to the table that help us to realise our plans swiftly. Our expectation is that by far most people will still prefer individual mobility by 2030, but it will be more about using and less about owning vehicles.

"Our new mobility platform will perfectly respond to this trend with a highly flexible and convenient offering at our customers’ fingertips. Autonomous vehicles will be the next gamechanger and lift the platform to an even higher level on the way to New Auto”.

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July 30, 2021: Europcar to be purchased by Volkswagen-led group of investors

A group of investors, led by Volkswagen, has acquired a majority share in global car rental firm Europcar.

The Volkswagen-led consortium, which includes Attestor Limited and Pon Holdings B.V., tabled a tender offer to Europcar totalling €2.9 billion (AU$4.66bn), valuing the company at €0.50 (AU$0.80) per share if 68 per cent ownership was given over to the group.

While Europcar has accepted what was initially on the table, if it hands over as much as 90 per cent of its share capital and voting rights to the consortium, the price will go up to €0.51 (AU$0.82) – bringing the total value of the deal to €2.96bn (AU$4.76bn).

Both proposals are a considerable increase over Europcar's closing price on the Euronext Paris stock exchange on June 22 which was €0.39 (AU$0.63) per share.

The transaction is now subject to approval by the French Stock Market Authority (AMF) and other relevant authorities. The offer is expected to be filed with the AMF by the end of the third quarter this year, with hopes for the sale to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2021 or first quarter of 2022.

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VW plans to introduce driverless shuttles in Europe from 2025

With more than 3500 locations in more than 140 countries, Europcar's worldwide presence is key for Volkswagen's future mobility plans to be put in motion, according to Volkswagen Group CEO, Herbert Diess.

"The mobility market is changing rapidly as customers increasingly demand new and innovative on-demand mobility solutions, such as subscription and sharing models to complement car ownership," said Diess.

"That is why we made building a leading mobility platform a key priority of our recently announced New Auto strategy through 2030.

"Europcar provides advanced fleet management capabilities as well as a broad network of stations at major airports, railway stations and city locations and will help accelerate Volkswagen’s delivery of its ambitious mobility services targets.

"Together with our consortium partners Attestor and Pon, we will support the development and transformation of Europcar’s business and selectively add further services from Volkswagen Group brands."

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VW's takeover of Europcar is a part of its wider plans to increase mobility for the masses

During Volkswagen's recent New Auto announcement, it laid out its plans to begin introducing driverless shuttles to European streets from 2025, which are currently being developed with Argo AI – a company Volkswagen co-owns with Ford.

Also announced was its new Scalable Systems Platform architecture, set to underpin its range of models from small to large vehicles, eventually forming the basis for more than 40 million vehicles in its lifetime.