Ford will supply Avis Budget Group with a fleet of digitally connected rental cars, making it easier for customers to pick up and return their vehicles.
More than 4,000 Ford vehicles will be added to the Avis Budget Group fleet this year, with a further 10,000 coming in 2020 as part of the rental company’s agreement with the Blue Oval.
The new, digitally connected vehicles will enable Avis customers to manage their entire experience via the Avis mobile app, including the type of car they want to rent, upgrade and extend the duration of their rental, as well as dropping off their vehicle, via a simple tap in the mobile application.
The cars will feature an embedded telematics system to make this work, which also provides telemetry data, such as mileage, fuel level and vehicle condition updates, in real time, enabling a faster turnaround for customers.
“Following the recent announcement of more than 35,000 Ford vehicles connected in our US fleet, this expansion of a further 14,000 connected vehicles in Europe is testament to the relationship with Ford Commercial Solutions and a significant milestone in our commitment to have a fully connected global fleet,” said Valerie Chenivesse, Fleet Services Director – International, Avis Budget Group.
Ford’s embedded telematics unit is using the Transportation Mobility Cloud (TMC) open platform that doesn’t require additional third-party hardware, management or installation downtime.“Ford Data Services and the TMC make it possible to deliver real-time connectivity across a fleet, enabling new data collection and insights. These insights make daily operations more efficient for our partners and their customers,” said Dave Phatak, director of Ford Commercial Solutions, Europe.