Budget Rent-a-Car Enhancing Innovation & Efficiency
Otokoc Georgia LLC is the holder of the master franchise of Budget Rent-a-Car in Georgia. The company is a 100% subsidiary of Otokoc Automotive Turkey which is the 31st largest company of Turkey with USD 1.9 billion sales revenues. Otokoc holds the licensee rights of Avis and Budget not only in Turkey, but also represents Avis in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Northern Iraq and Budget in Georgia and Hungary. Avis Budget Group is a US company with USD 8.5 billion sales revenues operating in 180 countries with 11.000 sales offices. Otokoc Turkey manages a car fleet of 40,000 cars. GEORGIA TODAY met Berat Ecemis, Country Manager of Budget Rent-a-Car, to find out more.
When and how did you start operating in Georgia?
The company was founded in January 2016 and Otokoc Georgia started active operations in Georgia in September 2016. The company is currently based in Tbilisi with one downtown office in Rose Revolution Square and the other in the Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport.
What services do you offer and what do you think are the benefits?
Budget Rent-a-Car is the smart car rental choice for value-conscious customers, offering a simple, efficient rental process and delivering high value to the savviest of frequent renters. We offer a carefree, confident experience to the casual renter every time. What’s more,Budget Georgia aims to be the first and most innovative player in car rental in Georgia. It will target the leisure and business segments and offer online solutions as well as stations. It will create a competitive advantage in its positioning by enhancing innovation and efficiency. The company will become a significant player of the mobility market.
What distinguishes Budget Rent-a-Car from other companies on the market?
Budget Georgia will stand out with its brand-new car fleet, robust financial position, and strong international experience, corporate structure and focus on a still untapped operational leasing market.
We aim to place ourselves among the top 3 in Rent-a-Car. Our company will leverage Rent-a-Car as the primary growth engine for Budget by going after a greater market share and strengthen its long-term rental position. It will tap under-penetrated market segments – international companies, small and medium sized enterprises and retail customers. We will also pioneer in 360 degree Mobility. It will earn first-mover advantages by establishing novel mobility services in Georgia. We aim to achieve operational excellence, and lead corporate efficiency and bottom line results by focusing on fleet management and technology.
What challenges do you face doing business in Georgia?
The challenging factor in Georgia is its still unregulated car market for the import of used cars. 0% VAT for new car sales lies ahead of the development of operational leasing, while the latter offers all kind of services related to everyday vehicle operations up to 48 months. In operational leasing, there is no need to tie up the capital of the leasee in the vehicles and the funds saved can be used for its core business. Vehicles are not part of the balance sheet. Any cost for tires, insurance, tax, repair and maintenance and replacement of the vehicles is incurred by the leasor.
Are there any new services you plan to introduce and implement in the nearest future?
Budget Georgia will extend the operating leasing model for a one-year term and use this for shorter periods, too, by utilizing the flexibility of our Rent-a-Car fleet and making sure that the holding cost is covered. We will also establish novel mobility services.
Nino Gugunishvili