Europcar UK experienced a dramatic leap in their online reservations service during 2002. Complementing our 24/7 reservation centre, our internet site, www.europcar.co.uk, has experienced a tremendous success in the last year. The volume of sales increased by 80%, which equates to an increase in revenue of 74%. Overall the internet sourced bookings represented 23% of the retail bookings in 2002, versus 5% in 2001.

Europcar focussed on their website and put forward new initiatives. Backed up with a consumer survey, the site was redesigned to be more user-friendly. This enabled the booking process to be much simpler and more intuitive, reducing the transaction time significantly, and helping customers find the services they require with a minimum of effort.

In addition to this, a new multiserver hosting solution was put in place to improve performance and increase available bandwidth. The combined effect of this meant that system availability increased to 99.8% while download speeds improved massively, reducing the page load time by 50%.

In addition to the technical aspects, various marketing initiatives were used to increase Europcar’s online presence. The site has also been made more attractive with monthly special offers and an increased product range available on line.

The combination of improved site performance and a more visible presence online resulted in an unprecedented 220% growth in visitor volumes for the year.

Ray Chapman, Europcar UK eCommerce manager, said: " We have invested strong resources into our internet tools to make sure that we provide our customer with the adequate and efficient answer one would want when using the web." He adds, " The initiatives that we’ve put in place over the last 12 months have demonstrated significant steps forward in our online capabilities, and we have been very satisfied with the results thus far. However, these are part of an ongoing development programme and we are already working on further enhancements and innovative new product features, to further expand our online offering this year. We will be adding significantly to the service during 2003 to ensure that Europcar will be seen as the benchmark when it comes to travel booking online."

Europcar, the car rental company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen A.G., the largest car manufacturer in Europe and number three worldwide with its Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda brands.

With 2685 world-wide locations in 123 countries and a fleet of more than 120,000 vehicles, Europcar is one of the world’s leading car rental companies. Founded in Paris in 1949, Europcar boasts greater airport coverage in Europe than any other car rental company and is the world’s largest car rental company of European origin.

Europcar is one of the UK’s leading car rental companies, with a fleet of around 15,000 vehicles and a network of 125 stations.

Europcar UK provides rental choice from 1 hour to 1 year, with or without a driver, for work or play. We provide a large selection of vehicle makes and models from small economy models and sporty convertibles to large family cars, minibuses and luxurious sedans, as well as vans.

Europcar, you rent a lot more than a car.

Sophie Ammann, Public Relations

Tel : 07771972803 / 01923811298

E-mail : ammanns@mail.europcar.com