Zipcar Acquires Streetcar, Expanding World's Largest Car Sharing Service

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LONDON, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Zipcar, Inc., the world's largest car sharing service, today announced it has acquired Streetcar, the UK's fastest growing car club.  This deal brings together these two companies to create a single, global brand focused on offering more convenience and variety to members in the UK, as well as a foundation for expanding the economic and environmental benefits of car sharing through a large scale network across Europe.  A conference call for media featuring Zipcar Chairman and CEO Scott Griffith and Streetcar Co-founder Andrew Valentine has been arranged for 9:00 am US Eastern Standard Time today. Media can access the call at (877) 212-8103 (US/Canada) or 08000288438 (UK/International).

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100421/NE90146 )

"In the near term, the more than 400,000 members of both companies will benefit from more cars, more convenience and enhanced technology," said Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar. "In the longer term, when considered along with our investment in the largest car sharing company in Spain in late 2009, this transaction gives us a very strong base from which to expand to additional European markets."

The companies will ultimately operate under the Zipcar brand, with Streetcar founders and executives Andrew Valentine and Brett Akker retaining their leadership positions with Zipcar. The deal will benefit Streetcar and Zipcar members by offering more vehicles, a greater variety of hybrid and other green cars, and more locations. Streetcar members will have access to Zipcar's global network of vehicles located in cities in the United States and Canada.  

In addition to the benefits to members, the increased scale resulting from the combination enables both companies to leverage investments in technology and branding.  Zipcar's "purpose built" technology platform enables scale from a technical level, whereas Streetcar's strong regional presence provides a solid geographical platform for expansion across Europe.  The companies have a complementary blend of technology, team, membership base, and partners to not only improve the car sharing experience for members located across the UK, but also create a large scale car sharing network across Europe.

"We are thrilled to be part of Zipcar," said Andrew Valentine, co-founder of Streetcar.  "We founded Streetcar with a vision of being the leading car club operator in Europe, and joining forces with Zipcar will help us realize that goal much more quickly. We look forward to continuing to deliver great service to our members."

In the coming months, the companies will begin the process of transitioning the Streetcar brand, parking locations, technology and operations to the Zipcar brand and platform, and will be communicating directly with members, partners and other groups on developments that impact them.

About Streetcar

Launched in April 2004, Streetcar has become an increasingly popular alternative to car ownership in the UK. The service has a presence in more than 1,100 locations across eight cities, including London, Brighton, Cambridge, Southampton, Guildford, Maidstone, Oxford and, most recently, Bristol.  Streetcar's range of vehicles cater for every type of journey, be it business or pleasure. More information is available at www.streetcar.com.

About Zipcar

Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing service with 360,000 members in urban areas and college campuses throughout 28 North American states and provinces and Europe. As a leader in urban transportation, Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to savvy city residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car in the city. More information is available at www.zipcar.com.

Zipcar and the Zipcar logo are trademarks of Zipcar, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Zipcar