Enterprise Rent-a-Car is a privately held St. Louis, Missouri-based rental car company serving customers in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the U.K..
They are also the owners of the Vanguard Automotive Group, operator of National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car in North America. The Detroit News reports that Enterprise currently purchases 7 percent of all new automobiles sold in the United States. As of 2005, they had 5,399 “local market” locations (91% of all transactions), and 419 airport locations (9% of all transactions).[citation needed]
Enterprise Rent-a-Car is the largest rental car company in North America, and has more than 6,900 offices. Enterprise is currently number 16 on the Forbes “500 Largest Private Companies in America” list. In June 2008, Enterprise Rent-a-Car placed 49th on the list of Most Respected Companies in the United States in a survey of U.S. consumers conducted by the Reputation Institute.
Corporate strategy
Enterprise’s primary focus is the local rental car market, specializing in car rentals to consumers who need a replacement car as the result of an accident, mechanical repair, theft, or who require a vehicle for a special occasion such as a short business or leisure trip. In the late 1990s, Enterprise Rent-a-Car also began expanding its operations to include the airport market, and now serves airports in the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland.
Awards
Enterprise customer service has been recognized seven times by J.D. Power and Associates as highest in customer satisfaction for rental car companies at or near airports. The company was named ninth on Business Week’s top 25 companies customer service list in 2007 and fifth on its 2006 “Best Places to Launch a Career”.