Rental cars are getting more
connected.
Late last year, Ford and Avis Budget Group agreed to connect more than 35,000 Ford vehicles in the rental company’s U.S. fleet.
Connected vehicle car renters can
manage their entire rental experience through the Avis mobile app, including what type of vehicle they want to rent, extending the rental duration and returning the vehicle without having to interact
with anybody.
“With more than 100,000 connected vehicles in our Avis Budget Group fleet and growing, the relationship with Ford Commercial Solutions is a significant milestone to achieve
a fully connected fleet by 2020,” Arthur Orduña, chief innovation officer, Avis Budget Group, stated at the time.
Now Avis is expanding its connected car program, with plans to
connect 14,000 Ford vehicles in the Avis Budget Group’s European fleet.
The connected cars also provide telemetry data in real-time, including mileage, fuel level and vehicle condition
updates so fleet managers can more quickly process data and do faster rental car turnarounds.
Over time, such connected vehicles will also connect to things around them, such as traffic lights
and other vehicles. This is just another of the dots being connected within the Internet of Things.