Suits you sir – Car rental gets smart

In a move to eliminate some of the uncertainties associated with car rental and bring more simplicity to the process, Europcar, the UK’s leading vehicle rental company has launched Options+. Developed in direct response to customer research, Options+ is a first for the car rental industry as it brings together additional products such as Sat Nav and excess waiver bundled in a very simple way for customers to tailor their rental to exactly suit their needs - and their budget.

Sally Williams, Product Marketing Manager at Europcar says: “For too long, car rental companies have managed to befuddle and confuse customers with the range of insurance products and other additional products they may need as part of their rental. This has led to a lack of trust and confidence that we need to restore – particularly as motorists are looking for solutions to reduce their costs and rental is proving to be one of those solutions. We therefore took a long hard look at this whole area and came up with Options+, a simple menu of products, with bundles to offer great cost-savings, making it easy for customers to choose and use.”

Options+ comprises 4 key areas providing the opportunity for customers to take advantage of grouped products and make significant cost savings or to buy them individually. For example, Risk Reduction Plus includes a free additional driver and Sat Nav from just £9.99 a day. If purchased separately, Sat Nav is £9.99 a day and an additional driver is £7.49 a day. It also includes the option to buy a tank of fuel up front at 5p per litre under the high street pump price – a guaranteed saving for customers who are planning to use the whole tank.

Crucially Options+ means there is a product suitable for every customer, their journey and their budget – whether they are renting for one day or one week.

Options+

RISK REDUCTION
Risk Reduction from £4.99 a day - Zero Excess and Additional Driver
Risk Reduction Plus from £9.99 a day - Zero Excess, Additional Driver and Sat Nav.
Windscreen Glass and Tyres £4.99 a day – Zero Excess

PERSONAL ACCIDENT COVER
Super Personal Accident and Baggage Cover - Personal Injury and death cover up to £1k, medical expenses cover up to £3k, baggage cover up to 3k

DRIVER CHOICE
Additional Driver £7.49 a day (£74.90 max for 7+ days)
Young Driver – 21-22 years £16.99 a day, 23-24 years, £11.99 a day

JOURNEY ESSENTIALS
Baby seats - £6.99 a day
Booster Cushions - £2.49 a day
Sat Nav - £9.99 a day (£99.90 max for 7+ days)
Overseas Cover - £59.99
Fuel Up front – A full tank for 5p per litre under average high street pump price

Sally Williams concludes: “We’ve listened to our customers and really started from scratch in an effort to be as transparent and cost-effective as possible. We believe Options+ is a real step forward for the industry as whole to bring customers much more confidence and clarity around the process of renting a car. This is the first of a number of initiatives we are planning this year to make Europcar the first choice for renters across the UK.”

For more information, log on to Europcar.co.uk.