1946

Avis is founded by Warren Avis at Willow Run Airport in Detroit with an $85,000 investment. This is the first car rental operation located at an airport. Soon after, facilities are opened at Miami Airport.

1953

Franchise operations are begun in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

1954

Avis is sold to Boston financier Richard S. Robie for $8 million.

1956

Avis is acquired by investment group led by Amoskeag Company. Avis, Inc. is formed as a formal holding company for the company's related business interests.

1958 

Budget Rent a Car is founded in Los Angeles by Morris Mirkin with a $10,000 investment. The company name is chosen to appeal to the "budget-minded" or “value-conscious” renter.

1959

Mirkin's distant relative, Jules Lederer becomes enamored with the Budget concept and creates a leasing company to help Mirkin increase his fleet and grow the business.

1960

Lederer and Mirkin form Budget Rent a Car Corporation in Chicago, and the company grows rapidly, both nationally and internationally.

1960

Avis Europe corporate offices are established in the United Kingdom.

1962

Investment banking firm, Lazard Freres & Company, buys Avis.

1963

"We Try Harder." advertising and marketing campaign makes its debut.

1965

ITT Corporation buys Avis for $51 million.

1972

ITT spins off Avis as a public company. Wizard® is introduced, the first real-time information management and reservation system.

1973

Avis is recognized as the market leader in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

1977

Norton Simon, Inc. buys Avis for $174 million.

1979

Avis enters a worldwide advertising and marketing agreement with General Motors and begins featuring GM cars in its fleet worldwide.

1983

Esmark, Inc. acquires Norton Simon in a $1 billion purchase; Avis is part of the deal.

1984

Beatrice buys Esmark for $2.5 billion, with Avis included again. Rapid Return is introduced - the car rental industry’s first automated self-service check-in service.

1985

Wizard is implemented in Europe, directly linking over 2,000 Avis locations with the ability to interface with all major reservation systems.

1986

Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management and selected investors, buy Budget from Transamerica Corp. in a leveraged buyout transaction.

1986

The investment firm, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. buys Beatrice for $6.2 billion; says it will sell Avis. Wesray Capital Corporation, another investment firm, acquires Avis for $263 million plus the assumption of debt. Shares of Avis Europe are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

1987

Budget announces its initial public offering of 3.2 million shares.

1987

Avis’ Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) purchases Avis for $750 million, plus the assumption of debt. Avis is considered a model ESOP company and is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States.

WizCom International, Ltd., an Avis subsidiary, is established to market the company's renowned computer expertise to major hotel chains around the world and other industries, including other car rental companies.

Avis also introduces Roving Rapid Return, a handheld computer terminal allowing customers to bypass the Avis counter.

1989

General Motors Corporation buys Avis stock; becomes a minority shareholder. Avis Europe is sold to Cilva Holdings, which is jointly owned by Lease International SA, General Motors Overseas Corporation and Avis, Inc.

1989

Avis Cares®, a multifaceted program designed to increase renter/employee-owner safety, is introduced.

1991

Avis earns site visit by Malcolm Baldrige National Quality examiners in competition for prestigious award.

1992

Avis earns second on-site visit by Baldrige examiners.

1992

Budget moves its long-time downtown Chicago headquarters to Lisle, IL.

1994

Wizard is implemented in more than 34 countries.

1996

Avis is acquired by HFS Incorporated, the world’s largest franchiser of hotels and residential real estate brokerage offices. Wizard is now in 53 countries.

1997

Budget is bought by Team Rental Group, Budget’s largest U.S. franchisee, and changes its name to Budget Group, Inc.  Budget Group begins trading on the NYSE. 

Later that year, Budget unveils “Unlimited Budget,” a travel agent loyalty program through which members can receive a free Unlimited Budget debit MasterCard and earn valuable points for completed bookings.

1997

Avis becomes a public company with a successful initial public offering. HFS retains the Avis brand name and franchising rights, WizCom International, and a minority interest in the newly public Avis. Avis purchases all of the outstanding capital stock of First Gray Line, the second largest Avis System franchisee in North America, with 70 locations in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

1998

Avis announces secondary offering of its common stock.

Avis purchases Hayes Leasing Company, Inc., a franchisee in Texas, and also makes six other smaller acquisitions.

1998

Budget introduces “Fastbreak,” its paperless-transaction express service. The company also launches “Perfect Drive,” a customer loyalty program that awards Calloway golf clubs, Bolle ski goggles, and other valuable items.

1998

Budget Group, Inc. acquired Ryder TRS, Inc., and combined it with Budget Truck Rental to form the Budget Truck Group. In 2002, Budget Group integrated the two companies -- Ryder TRS, Inc. and Budget Truck Rental – under one brand name, Budget Truck Rental.

1999

Avis continues to purchase franchisees and acquires the fleet management and fuel card businesses of PHH and Wright Express to form Avis Group Holdings, Inc.

2000

Avis InterActive is introduced, the industry's first Internet-based reporting system.

2001

Budget Truck Rental’s first 700 newly designed blue trucks are released from manufacturing plant on October 15th.

2001

Avis is ranked highest for customer loyalty among 129 companies evaluated for the Brand Keys® Customer Loyalty Awards.

2001

Cendant purchases all of the outstanding shares of Avis Group Holdings it did not currently own in a transaction valued at $937 million, resulting in Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant. The company’s world headquarters moves from Garden City, NY to Parsippany, NJ.

2001

Avis ties for number one in the J.D. Power ranking of business traveler satisfaction with rental car companies.

2001

AARP names Avis one of 11 “Exemplary Companies for Workers Over 50.”

2002

Budget Group is de-listed from the NYSE and sells its Budget Rent A Car assets in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand to Cendant Corporation. 

Other worldwide assets are sold to Avis Europe, Plc.  Cendant moves Budget headquarters from Lisle, IL to Parsippany, NJ.

2002

Avis becomes the first and only rental car company to adopt the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s LATCH system (“Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children”) as its standard for child restraint installation.

2002

Avis is ranked highest for customer loyalty among 158 companies evaluated by Brand Keys® Customer Loyalty.

2002

Ryder TRS, Inc. is officially integrated with Budget Truck Rental during first quarter.  Budget Truck Rental begins process of retiring the Ryder TRS, Inc. bright yellow trademarked trucks from the fleet and replacing with the new, blue Budget trucks. 

From coast to coast, Ryder TRS, Inc. signs are replaced with new Budget signs.

2003

Budget rolls out the “Budget Business Program,” a corporate discount program that offers small and mid-sized businesses low corporate rates, complimentary Fastbreak service and no additional driver fees.

2003

20,000 Ryder TRS, Inc. trucks are redesigned and reintroduced to the rental fleet with new Budget logos.  Budget Truck Rental has approximately 28,000 trucks and over 2,400 convenient locations across the U.S by the end of 2003.

2003

Avis is ranked highest for customer loyalty among all rental car companies according to the Brand Keys® Customer Loyalty survey.

2004

Budget Truck Rental purchases 8,500 new, white re-designed trucks for rental fleet. Budget Truck Rental has approximately 30,000 trucks and over 2,500 convenient locations across the U.S by the end of 2004.

2004

Avis is ranked highest for customer loyalty among all rental car companies according to the Brand Keys® Customer Loyalty survey.

2005

Budget Truck Rental purchases approximately 9,000 new trucks for rental fleet, bringing the fleet total, after older truck retirement, to over 32,000.

2005

Avis is ranked highest for customer loyalty among all rental car companies according to the Brand Keys® Customer Loyalty survey.

2006

Avis is ranked highest for customer loyalty among all rental car companies according to the Brand Keys® Customer Loyalty survey.