Avis Rent a Car Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd

About Avis Rent a Car

Avis Rent a Car South Africa is a South African mobility provider and rental car company. The company offers short- and long-term rental of passenger cars, monthly rental options, Van Rental for vans, luxury car rental (Avis Luxury Cars), Chauffeur Drive and Point-2-Point transfers as well as Safari Rental with fully equipped overlanding vehicles. The offering is complemented by Avis Car Sales (sale of used fleet vehicles), Avis Fleet (full-service leasing) and Level 1 B-BBEE certification. Avis operates the largest rental car location network in southern Africa, with locations in all nine provinces of South Africa as well as in Botswana, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. The company belongs to the Barloworld Group (since 2005). Historically, the brand traces back to the founding of the first airport car rental by Warren Avis at Willow Run Airport, Detroit, in 1946; in South Africa, the business was founded in 1967 as Zeda Car Rental and Tours in Bloemfontein and introduced under the Avis name in 1969.

Site

Isando, South Africa

Certificates

B-BBEE Level 1, ISO 9002 (1993, historical)

Industries

Mobility services, Car rental, Fleet leasing

Locations

Isando (Johannesburg)

DE

Head office / National operations

Inside the production

Quality

Avis was certified to SABS ISO 9002 for its quality management system in 1993; the company is rated Level 1 B-BBEE. An in-house quality management system (Avis Budget Quality Management System) governs service quality.

History

1. 1946

   Warren Avis founds Avis Airlines Rent a Car Systems at Willow Run Airport, Detroit – the first car rental at an airport worldwide.

2. 1953

   International expansion begins with franchise operations in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

3. 1963

   Launch of the advertising campaign 'We're only No.2. We try harder'.

4. 1965

   Founding of the Avis Europe Division (Europe, Africa, Middle East).

5. 1967

   Zeda Car Rental and Tours (Pty) Ltd is founded in Bloemfontein; majority stake held by Federale Volksbeleggings (Sanlam).

6. 1969

   Zeda adopts the Avis Rent a Car name; official brand launch in South Africa.

7. 1972

   Nationwide representation; expansion to Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

8. 1980

   Diversification into full-maintenance leasing; renaming to Zeda Car Leasing (Pty) Ltd.

9. 1980er

   Licensees outside the USA with the highest revenue; expansion to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.

10. 1991

    Access to the Wizard real-time online system of the international Avis group.

11. 1993

    SABS ISO 9002 quality management system certification.

12. 1997

    Servgro spin-off; listing of Avis Southern Africa on the stock exchanges of Johannesburg, Namibia and Botswana.

13. 1998

    Launch of Avis Luxury Cars.

14. 2001

    Introduction of Avis Chauffeur Drive and entry into the commercial vehicle market with Avis Van Rental.

15. 2002

    Introduction of the brand ambassador culture and the Point-2-Point service.

16. 2005

    Barloworld Limited acquires the full shareholding in Avis Southern Africa; delisting from the JSE.

17. 2009

    First carbon-neutral accredited company in South Africa according to UN protocol.