Germany-headquartered mobility and car rental company Sixt
on Wednesday announced a franchise partnership with Australia's National Roads
& Motorists Association, also one of the largest car rental companies on
the continent. The partnership adds 160 branches to Sixt's international
network, including a rental fleet of 16,000 vehicles. It ushers Sixt into the
estimated €1 billion Australia market with a 13 per cent market share.
NRMA previously operated as a Thrifty franchise, but each
location will change its flag to Sixt. The German company previously franchised
to smaller providers in Australia but now has dissolved each of those
relationships for an exclusive deal with NRMA, which also provides tourism
services to customers. The relationship offers Sixt airport locations in
business hubs like Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. While most of the Australia
business is domestic, 20 per cent comes from inbound international travel.
The start of the partnership between Sixt and the NRMA
coincides with the initial integration of 40 MG EV and 25 Tesla Model 3
vehicles, making it one of the largest electric vehicle fleets for hire in
Australia today. For the NRMA, the addition of electric cars is a step towards
electrifying half its nationwide rental fleet within five years to support the
nation’s net-zero emissions target.