Nijhawan Group ties up with US' Thrifty Car Rental

New Delhi, May 23 (UNI) Travel company Nijhawan Group today forayed into the Indian car rental services market under a master franchise agreement with US-based Thrifty Car Rental aiming to grasp a 10-12 per cent share of the total space.

With the aviation, hospitality and travel sector booming, the company estimates the car rental services market at Rs 900-Rs 1,000 crore including the organised and unorganised sector.

''We aim to capture 10-12 per cent of the total market in the next three to four years,'' Nijhawan Group Executive Director Arjun Nijhawan told reporters here.

The Group will introduce the service with 110 cars in three metros -- 50 in Delhi, 30 in Bangalore and 30 in Mumbai.

The market size in the three metros alone is estimated at over Rs 50 crore, he said adding that the fleet size is expected to rise to 300 by fiscal-end and 2,000 over the next five years.

Apart from the three metros the company will also expand its operations in Hyderabad, Chennai, Udaipur and Jaipur by the year-end. The company will target corporates and tour service providers.

''The main aim is to provide different services to different customers,'' Mr Nijhawan added.

The cars will be owned and maintained by the Group. Also, the company will utilise only 90 per cent of the fleet keeping the rest 10 per cent vehicles as back-up maintaining high service standards.

''There is a rise in international and domestic travellers and a boom in the local domestic airlines in India. This has brought in a surge in the demand for quality car rentals and is expected to bring in organised service providers developing the market,'' Dollar Thrifty Automative Group Executive VP International Yves Boyer said.

The tie-up of the two service providers is expected to boost the organised car rental market in India, currently driven by the unorganised sector which constitutes 90 per cent of the Rs 1,000 crore market, Mr Nijhawan said.

''All the cars will be funded by bank or internal accruals whether luxury or non-luxury. These will be offered for self-driving or with a chaffeur,'' he added.

The company has provided nine cars on long rentals for a period of nine to twelve months, Group Chairman Sham Nijhawan said.

None of the car will be used for more than three years and will not cross one lakh kms, the Chairman claimed.

The drivers will undergo specialised training in driving and speaking skills. Training schools will be set up for the same to ensure they remain clean and behave properly with the customers.

Thrifty Car Rental, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc, is a leading car rental company in the world.

The brand has its presence all over America, Europe and the West Asia.

UNI