Auto Europe Explained

Auto Europe, LLC.
Type:Privately held LLC
Industry:Rental and leasing services
Services:Car rental
Location City:Portland, Maine
Area Served:Worldwide

Auto Europe is a large car rental wholesale company, working with approximately 24,000 car rental locations in 180 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, as well as North and South America. Auto Europe has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2 April 1993, with an A+ rating.[1] Auto Europe has been owned by Court Square Capital Partners since 2006.[2]

International car rental is the main service sold by Auto Europe. In addition to traditional self-driven rental cars, Auto Europe books luxury and sport vehicles, motorhome and campervan rentals, European Leasing, as well as chauffeur and airport transfer services.[3]

Auto Europe was founded in Germany in 1954 by Alex Cecil. The company got its start purchasing cars to rent to U.S. travelers in Europe. Cecil later moved to New York and eventually relocated the company to Maine. In 1997, Alex Cecil retired, passing the reins to current leadership.[4]

In 1995, Auto Europe began offering airfare and hotels under the name Destination Europe. In 2010, they re-branded this division as Fly International.

Car Hire

Auto Europe collaborates with a number of suppliers including Europcar, Thrifty Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Sixt, National Car Rental, Alamo, Buchbinder, Ezi Car Rental, First Car Rental, County Car Rentals, Rhodium and more.[5]

European Car Leasing

Auto Europe has partnered with Peugeot Car-2-Europe, Renault Eurodrive, Citroën Car-2-Europe and DS Car-2-Europe to provide another option for long-term car hire in Europe. Those travelling around Europe 21 to 175 days can travel freely throughout over 40 European countries.

Motorhome Rental

Auto Europe offers motorhome hire in a number of countries with a range of supplies including: Star RV, Jucy, Apollo, Maui, Mighty Campers, Britz, Cruise America, Cruise Canada, Bunk Campers, Anywhere Campers, McRent, Road Bear, Star RV, CanaDream, Just Go, Avis Car-Away and more. Auto Europe services various countries all around the globe including: Australia, New Zealand, the United States, most of Europe, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and more.

Luxury Car Hire

Auto Europe offers a range of high-end vehicles such as Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Range Rover and more to choose from in various locations worldwide.

Travel Industry Awards

Auto Europe has been nominated for numerous World Travel Awards, including Europe's Leading Car Rental Company (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), Europe's Leading Business Car Rental Company (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), and Europe's Leading Chauffeur Company (2013, 2014).[6] In 2014 Auto Europe received its 5th Magellan Award as a silver winner in the Car Rental – Overall Luxury Car Collection category.[7] Most recently, Auto Europe took home a number of awards at the 2019 Magellan Awards in ground transportation. The gold category awards were both the Overall-Luxury Car Collection award and the Car Service – Overall-Worldwide Coverage award.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Better Business Bureau – Auto Europe. Better Business Bureau. Better Business Bureau. 18 December 2014.
  2. Web site: Court Square Capital Partners Acquires Auto Europe Mergr. mergr.com. 2020-04-09.
  3. Web site: Company Overview of Auto Europe, LLC. https://archive.today/20141218221314/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7924776. dead. 18 December 2014. Bloomberg Businessweek. 18 December 2014.
  4. Web site: Limone. Jerry. Alex Cecil, Auto Europe founder, dies. https://web.archive.org/web/20200414154759/https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Car-Rental-News/Alex-Cecil-Auto-Europe-founder-dies. dead. 14 April 2020. Travel Weekly. Northstar Travel Media, LLC. 18 December 2014.
  5. Web site: Our Car Rental Partners. autoeurope.com. Auto Europe, LLC. 18 December 2014.
  6. Web site: World Travel Awards Nominees. World Travel Awards. World Travel Awards. 18 December 2014.
  7. Web site: 2014 Magellan Awards Silver Winners. travelweeklyawards.com. Travel Weekly. 18 December 2014.
  8. Web site: Enterprise, Avis Budget, Hertz, Auto Europe Win Gold Magellan Awards. autorentalnews.com. Auto Rental News. 14 November 2019.