Avis Budget Embraces Car Sharing With Zipcar Acquisition

Avis Budget Group Inc., once a skeptic about car sharing services, agreed to buy short-term rental pioneer Zipcar Inc. for $491 million, signaling a shift in the industry to embracing drivers who don’t want to own cars.

With the Zipcar deal, Avis Budget becomes the latest company to pursue the fast-growing market for young, urban customers who want to rent cars by the hour, rather than owning their own vehicles. Enterprise Holdings Inc. and Hertz Global Holdings Inc., the two largest U.S. car-rental companies, have already rolled out offerings for such customers.