3 hours ago

Brent Jones 
Group 1 -EasyCar.com
CO LL AP SE
When it comes to the rental car market, easyCar.com took a much different approach than its
competition, allowing it to stand out in both good and bad ways. When it comes to advertising,
easyCar’s motto is, “You will never use an easy company for the experience – it’s about price. If
you create an expectation you can’t live up to then you will ultimately suffer as a result.”
Initially, easyCar was much cheaper than its competition and only carried one type and model of
car. So, right away, easyCar is at a disadvantage compared to its competitors in that there are
many customers within the market who seek various sizes and luxury levels when choosing a
rental vehicle; easyCar is not able to accommodate or appeal to these customers. The upside of
easyCar only offering one type and model of vehicle is that it does appeal to the tourists who
seek the most cost-effective option within the rental market.
With easyCar, the consumer knows he/she is getting a Mercedes every time. All too often, with
car rental companies, consumers do not know what type or model of car they will receive until
arriving at the rental counter to pick up said rental car. In purchasing such a large quantity of one
type of luxury vehicle, easyCar held negotiating power with the car manufacturer (Mercedes),
which allowed for guaranteed buyback terms in the contract. With such accelerated growth rates
in 2002, the company began to stock its fleet with other types of vehicles. EasyCar still
maintained its policy for only offering a single type of vehicle at each location; the type of
vehicle just depended upon the rental location. 
Another of easyCar’s big innovations was to rent cars by-the-hour in addition to by-the-day. This
allowed not only for great flexibility for easyCar’s customers and but also for significant cost
savings; the goal was for easyCar to be comparable to taxis, buses, and trains in both ease and
affordability. EasyCar also made a point to keep airport locations (or those close-by) open 24/7
in order to provide round-the-clock service to customers traveling during all hours of the day.
Most competitor car rental agencies were only open 7am to 11pm in order to keep costs low. To
counter the additional operating costs of being open 24/7, easyCar limited lot space and
employees. Due to its 90% rental rate, easyCar saw great success from its efforts. Though most
other car rental companies didn’t, easyCar adhered its own name labels to the windows and sides
of its rental cars – an affordable and easy means of advertisement.
Another thing that differentiated easyCar from other car rental companies is that its business
model was based off of that of easyJet. This played into easyCar’s favor because the company
was able to expand into countries where easyJet was already recognized, popular, and widely
used. Being that the brand names were so similar in look and feel, consumers were already
somewhat familiar and comfortable with easyCar’s entry to their markets. Stelios Haji-Ioannou,
the founder of the easyGroup family of companies, worked hard to continue developing his ideal
“easy” brand and went so far as attempting to enter the internet café and cinema markets,
however that may have been too far for the brand to be successful since he later categorized
entering the internet café market as, “the worst mistake of my life.”
EasyCar has shifted its growth model in order to be based on low cost, low expense with internet
optimization in order make car rental more convenient and affordable for consumers. Serving as
a cost comparison entity, easyCar built on its strength as an internet-based booking site. The
CEO has a strong affinity for using simplified strategies in order to focus on having a small
footprint, affordable services, and high rental volumes resulting in fast growth for the company
and with high profits. The growth model implemented by easyCar is certainly sustainable in the
short term if and when starting with a large amount of capital; however, it would not be
sustainable long-term given the high expectations of the CEO.
Even with complaints of hidden fees and questionable policies, easyCar has still outperformed its
competitors due to customers’ expectations being aligned with the experiences they endure with
easyCar. EasyCar has grown far beyond any initial expectations as it now operates
approximately 45,000 locations in several different countries and offers free amendments and
cancellations to all customers. The company’s rapid growth and great success are a testament to
the ideal growth model of an affordable, low-cost car rental service with quality products.
EasyCar has been able to compete and excel in a crowded industry.
 
 
References
Lawrence, J. J., & Solis, L. (2013). EasyCar.com. J. P. Peter &  J. H. Donnelly (Authors),
Marketing management: Knowledge and skills (11th ed., pp. 328-336). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
EasyCar secures tie-up with Alamo. (2004, June 18). Travel Trade Gazette UK & Ireland,
96. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A118432252/ITOF?
u=oswego&sid=ITOF&xid=29c95a4b
EasyCar calls review of all European media accounts. (2004, April 23). Campaign, 02.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A115752375/ITOF?u=oswego&sid=ITOF&xid=ba15bc07
EasyCar. Compare car hire deals. Retrieved March 03, 2021, from
https://www.easycar.com/
Yip, George S., Using Strategy to Change Your Business Model. Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=551165