South Africa Edition 2

THE MARKET
While most of the world’s top brands vie for your
attention with “in your face” advertising and
promises, Budget is the butler of the car rental
industry: it quietly goes about providing excellent
service without the fanfare.
By supplying a cost competitive product in
significant car and van rental markets, Budget
is clearly focused on sourcing, servicing and
retaining sectors of the economy that have
already placed the company in the number three
position in its industry.
A large percentage of Budget’s business
is the corporate market, while tourism - both
national and international inbound - makes up a
smaller, but vital, sector. This is a supplier fully
engaged in servicing domestic leisure, domestic
corporate, international leisure and international
corporate markets with a reasonably priced, regal
service. It’s what clients have come to expect
from a company that takes them “the rest of the
way”. Some of that way now includes cybertravel,
where Budget has seen the use of internet
bookings rocketing.
As part of the Bidvest Group, Budget has the
financial muscle to grow its market share quickly
and effectively. However, Budget’s determination
to maintain excellent service levels is more
important than rapid growth. The company will
drive a steady road to growth, looking to increase
market share without compromising profitability.
Don’t be misled, though: slow and steady in
Budget’s terms has so far seen its services
become available in every major airport in the
world, as well as many others - 800 to be exact.
With 70 percent of its business taking place at
airports and 2,700 locations around the globe,
Budget is well placed to capture greater market
share, while staying within the speed limit!
ACHIEVEMENTS
With many achievements and accolades over the
years, some of the more recent ones stand out as
landmarks for the company. They include:
• Being the first car rental company to be
awarded a BBB Black Economic Empowerment
(BEE) rating by EmpowerDex
• First car rental company to win the Association
of South African Travel Agents (ASATA)
award for Best Service to the Travel Industry
(voted by the travel industry), for six consecutive
years - a record that remains unbroken
in the industry
• In the 2005/2006 Markinor Brand and
Branding Survey, Budget was adjudged the
second most recognised brand in the highly
competitive car rental category - revved up
a notch from having held third place for the
previous three years
• Budget has pioneered e-billing in South
Africa, with SARS-approved invoices and
electronic “paperwork” making car rental
sophisticated but uncomplicated for busy
corporations and travel agents
• In a South African first, Budget now offers
travellers an electronic “tour guide”. Radio
Tourism is a satellite unit that plugs into a
radio frequency and gives tourists the lowdown
about the sights they are driving past.
It also tells them about local events they
can attend, and various other bits of useful
information like weather forecasts or speed
traps. Having been tested in Cape Town, the
system is soon to be rolled out nationally
HISTORY
Born in the USA, Budget was founded in 1958 by
Morris Mirkin, a Los Angeles, California personal
renter. Breaking into an already crowded market,
Mirkin and his wife managed a ten-car fleet - at
$4 per car per day!
Two years later, Budget Rent a Car was
established, setting the foundation for a global
organisation that still bases its operations on
value for money and quality service. Budget has
since grown to become the third largest car rental
concern in the world, with 16,000 employees in
more than 120 countries.
In 1967, a Durban couple, Pam and Ken Levy,
brought the Budget brand to South Africa and
operated from their garage with a “fleet” of two
“volksies”. Budget, one of the first international
car rental brands in the world, became the second
car rental service in this country.
Growth from there has been astounding.
Always, however, a conservative approach has
been taken: Budget has maintained its awareness
of the cost of placing more importance on rapid
growth than on customer service.
Today Budget operates at 74 percent utilisation
on a fleet of over 7,500 vehicles, ranging from
basic 1300 models to the luxuriously comfortable
long-wheel-base “people carriers”.
THE PRODUCT
Some of the products on offer from Budget
include:
• Car/van rentals: Car and van rental for
corporate and leisure travellers, with a
constantly upgraded fleet of vehicles from a
broad range of manufacturers
• Chauffeur Services and Door2Door operation:
Taking the stress out of driving
• Special Services: Offering the long-wheelbase
Kombi that can comfortably carry eight
people and their luggage; as well as other
vehicles fitted with tow-bars to accommodate
South Africa’s sport-and-safari lifestyle.
Budget also remain the only car rental
company to offer radios/CD players in every
category
With a variety of offerings in each arena, the
Budget product line offers a host of options for
corporate and leisure travellers.