Driving eco considerations

Do you want to be a part of a franchise that’s looking to the future?

The unique concept of an environmentally focused car rental service was dreamt up by car rental entrepreneur Richard Lowden in 2005 when he was searching for a better way for him and his team to capitalise on their vast industry experience and develop a business that could truly compete with the multi-national giants.

After more than two years’ worth of research, the world’s first environmentally focused car and van rental company – Green Motion – became a reality. Richard’s business philosophy was simple; it was to provide both leisure and business customers the opportunity and choice to hire a vehicle on a short-term basis that was kinder to the environment. This was achieved by sourcing cars and commercial vehicles which boasted the latest in environmental and fuel-efficient technologies and then providing these vehicles to customers.

Initially the fleet choice was quite limited and included products from Toyota and Honda such as the Prius and Civic models along with hybrids from Lexus and particulate-filtered diesel vehicles from Volkswagen Group and BMW. Today, the fleet landscape is very different. Green Motion offers vehicles from over 10 motor manufactures including fully electric models, range extenders, hybrids and low CO2 diesels, and operates a fleet of more than 18,000 vehicles worldwide.

FULL SERVICE

Richard did not want the business ethos to solely form around the type of cars offered for hire and as such he set about ensuring that the business itself supported it’s own green ethos touching all areas of the business from recycling to sustainability – forming essentially a green company offering a green service. Richard was also keen to ensure that the service delivered from Green Motion was of the very highest level and as such embarked on another industry first, making the entire Green Motion network franchised operations with each and every location owned and operated by individual and entrepreneurial business professionals.

Green Motion’s first franchised locations opened for business in early 2008 in the United Kingdom with their operations in Leicestershire and Gatwick being amongst the pioneering sites. While the brand has enjoyed fantastic growth in the United Kingdom, with them becoming a top 10 national player, Green Motion also pushed on hard, developing the brand globally with 2010 seeing the launch of their first overseas country, Mexico.

Once the organisation had proven its ability to operate the business model in other markets, Lowden started to strategically focus on the rapid expansion of the Green Motion brand worldwide. Since 2012, Green Motion has gone from operating in two countries to 22 countries with more than 220 car hire locations and is continuing to grow at a great pace. The location spread is from as far as the Middle East, throughout Europe and into North, Central and South America. But why does Lowden think that Green Motion has proved to be such a successful franchise business? “The car rental industry globally is a multi billion dollar concern with customers demanding more and more freedom when it comes to travel,” he explains. “Green Motion is truly a brand with a genuine and relevant unique selling proposition where we give discerning customers the opportunity to play their part in reducing their own personal travel emissions. By operating a 100 percent franchised system, customers receive all the benefits and facilities of a truly international organisation while also having a high level of personal contact with the franchise owners at a location level. This model allows us to deliver a consistently high level of service which is crucial to our industry.

“As well as our franchise network being able to enjoy a unique selling position within our market, they also benefit from our cutting edge technology,” he continues. “The way consumers purchase car hire has changed dramatically over recent years with many of them migrating from the traditional travel agent route to purchasing independently online. A Green Motion franchisee is fully connected to each and every major distribution channel, stretching from online aggregators such as Rentalcars and Holiday Auto’s, to online travel agencies such as Expedia, to price comparison sites including the Travel Supermarket. This means that our franchisees can genuinely compete head-to-head with the multi-national car rental companies with the added competitive advantage of being green.”

MOVING FORWARD

Lowden’s environmental considerations really are at the forefront of his plans for the future: “I am pleased that once again the environment and the effects of global climate change have taken to the world stage with the world’s leaders meeting in Paris for the Climate Change Conference in December last year. The conference once again highlighted the need for each and every one of us to play our part in the sustainability and protection of our planet. While Green Motion cannot single handedly change the world, we are providing a platform for customers to be proactive in their purchase decisions. We are also conscious of not only educating our customers but also our local communities in best environmental practices with the focus that every small change to our behaviour truly makes a difference.

“Green Motion is enjoying staggering growth and we are already on target to see the brand expand to over 30 countries within 2016. I am confident that in the next five years, Green Motion will be a top 10 global car rental brand.” Green Motion is currently embarking on its next phase of development and is looking for entrepreneurial business professionals to support growth on local franchised levels throughout the United Kingdom at key locations as well as master country and / or master state (USA) franchises throughout Europe and worldwide.

The Green Motion franchise system is regarded as one of the leading franchise products with the automotive industry, delivering a genuine turn key operation including business planning, branding, training, systems, ongoing operational support, marketing and sales, with more than 80 percent of the franchisee’s business being sourced centrally via Green Motion head office’s systems.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To find out more about becoming a Green Motion local or country franchisee, visit greenmotion. com or alternatively contact the head office in the United Kingdom by calling +44 (0) 20 7186 4000.