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Zipcar is an American car sharing company and a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group. Zipcar provides vehicle reservations to its members, billable by the minute, hour or day; members may have to pay a monthly or annual membership fee in addition to car reservations charges. Gas, maintenance, insurance options, and a dedicated parking spot are included. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Antje Danielson and Robin Chase.
On March 14, 2013, Avis Budget Group acquired Zipcar for approximately million. Scott Griffith, who had run the company for the previous decade, resigned the day after the acquisition closed and passed the reins to a new company president, Mark Norman. In early 2014, Kaye Ceille took over as Zipcar's North American president. In the summer of 2016, Ceille became a managing director of Avis Budget Group International and in 2017, Tracey Zhen was appointed as president. Angelo Adams was announced as the head of Zipcar in 2022.
In September 2016, Zipcar announced that it had 1 million members across 500 cities in nine countries, and offers nearly 10,000 vehicles.
Members can instantly join and reserve vehicles via Zipcar's Android or iPhone mobile app or online and, once approved, immediately book Zipcars up to a year in advance. Zipcar members have 24/7 on-demand access to the cars by enabling Bluetooth on their Zipcar mobile app or, if needed, an access card which unlocks the door; the keys are already located inside. Members can also use Zipcar's app to search, book and locate a Zipcar by honking its horn, extend, end and cancel a reservation.
In the third quarter of 2007, Zipcar merged with Seattle-based rival Flexcar to create a nationwide car rental company. The company's IPO was in April 2011. Zipcar common stock traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ZIP" until it was acquired by Avis in 2013.
In September 2001, the Washington, D.C. office opened, with the branch in New York City following in February 2002. In February 2003, after difficulties in securing additional rounds of funding, the Zipcar board replaced Robin Chase as CEO with Scott Griffith. In July 2005, Zipcar secured $10 million in funding led by Benchmark Capital. In August 2005, San Francisco office opened. In May 2006, the Toronto office opened. In May 2006, General Electric's Commercial Finance Fleet Services () gave Zipcar $20 million in lease line financing. In September 2006, the Toronto market was named the fastest growing new market in company history.
In November 2006, the London office opened. In April 2007, the Vancouver office opened. In October 2007, Zipcar and Flexcar executives announced a merger of the two companies, with the Zipcar brand and headquarters replacing that of Flexcar.
On 23 January 2008, the merged Zipcar/Flexcar canceled service for the Southern California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego without providing advance notice to customers in those areas, although Southern California college operations were left intact. On July 11, 2008, Zipcar announced it doubled membership in past year, including the Flexcar members it acquired, and now had 225,000 members. On August 28, 2008, Rice University announced its introduction into the program in their goal of achieving the lowest possible carbon footprint while providing additional transportation options for employees that carpool. In June 2009, the company announced an iPhone application at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference; the application is capable of honking the horn and unlocking some Zipcars.
Following impressive third-quarter results, previous CEO Scott Griffith announced that 2012 would mark Zipcar's "first full year of profitability on a US GAAP basis". Scott Griffith stepped down on March 15, 2013, following Avis Budget Group's acquisition of Zipcar. Mark Norman remained as president until February 2014, when Avis Budget Group announced that Kaye Ceille was appointed president of Zipcar, and "Mark Norman would step down in order to pursue another career opportunity." In July 2016, Kay Ceille stepped down as president of Zipcar to become the managing director of Avis Budget Group International, Australia. On January 5, 2017, Zipcar announced that after a 6-month search they appointed Tracey Zhen as its new president. Zhen came over from TripAdvisor where she had been a vice president and general manager. On September 27, 2020, Zipcar announced Angelo Adams as its new head of Zipcar.
Zipcar saw a significant swing in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a falloff in demand in March 2020 and a surge in May. Having taken cars off the road, the company had trouble keeping up with demand, causing a backlog at the customer service center. Some customers arrived at the time of their reservation to find no car in the parking spot. Some customers reported being stranded without transportation and unable to reach customer service to complain or cancel their membership. President Tracey Zhen apologized in June, saying the company was adding cars and customer service employees. By that month, she reported membership applications in New York City 70% above June 2019. An anonymous employee told CNN that the problems were exacerbated by laying off more than 20% of its employees, and changing call centers.
Members are given an RFID containing a wireless chip that will open the vehicle they have reserved only at the time they have reserved it. The reservation includes vehicle insurance, a Gasoline card for the car. A member can reserve and use a Zipcar in any Zipcar city.
Most Zipcar vehicles will feature decals with the Zipcar logo. Each vehicle has a "name" that help the renter to identify their specific vehicle. Zipcar offers vehicles in different categories, such as economy cars, electric vehicles (EV's), hybrid vehicles, full-size cars, luxury vehicles (such as those from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and other luxury manufacturers), SUV's, pickup trucks, and cargo . A Zipcar vehicle will not unlock for the renter until their exact reservation time. Renters unlock their vehicle (both at the beginning of the reservation and throughout the rental) by either holding their Zipcar membership Radio Frequency Identification RFID card or smartphone against the upper corner of the vehicle's windshield. The vehicle's keys are always tied to the steering column of the vehicle, and stay inside the vehicle at all times. A Zipcar "Copilot" guide is located in the driver's side sun visor, and includes a complimentary refueling card (gasoline card), insurance information, the vehicle registration card, and information about both the vehicle, as well as rental policies and procedures.
During a rental, a Zipcar member can interface with their rented vehicle using the Zipcar smartphone app, which includes the ability to locate the vehicle in a parking lot (including GPS location and the ability to sound the vehicle's horn and flash the lights) and unlock or lock the vehicle.
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In December 2009, Zipcar announced their participation in a round of financing with Avancar, the largest on-demand car rental company in Spain, based in Barcelona. Under the terms of the agreement, Zipcar acquired a minority interest in Avancar, a Zipcar executive joined Avancar's board and Zipcar was given a year option to increase the company's ownership stake. Later on in April 2010, Zipcar announced that it had acquired London-based car-sharing club Streetcar. In December 2010, Zipcar extended their option for another year through the end of 2011, and provided a monetary loan to Avancar, which is convertible into equity if Zipcar chooses to exercise the option. On October 17, 2012, Zipcar announced the completion of its Avancar integration. On January 22, 2019 Zipcar (Avancar) members received notification that the service would no longer be available as of midnight, February 28, 2019. On Facebook and Instagram, the company cited a decision made by Avis to discontinue the service in the Spanish city.
Since 2014, Zipcar has started services in cities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Zipcar has received some scrutiny for their low coverage limits.
Insurance coverage may vary depending on the region of use. For example, Canadian members in Toronto, Ontario, are provided with $1 million in liability coverage. Vancouver, BC members are provided with $2 million in liability coverage. Both regions in Canada also include comprehensive and collision coverage in addition to liability insurance. Previously, Zipcars traveling into Canada from the U.S. required members to obtain a special insurance card from Zipcar. As of February 2018, however, it appears that this is no longer the policy. Canadian Zipcars traveling into the U.S. do not need the extra insurance card.
Similar to members of Zipcar U.S., members of Zipcar London, UK, require a special "vehicle on-hire" certificate when traveling abroad, which can be obtained from Zipcar.
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