This past Monday, local carsharing company Zipcar celebrated the relocation of its global headquarters from Cambridge to Boston with a parade. A procession of Zipcars and Zipvans made its way over to the company’s new location in the Hub’s Innovation District.
Zipcar’s move into the Innovation District – a highly-coveted area for businesses, especially startups – should come as no surprise. In one study this year, they were estimated to hold three-fourths of the market share for the North American car rental industry.
A great deal of Zipcar’s expansion over the past few years can also be attributed to its integration with both domestic and foreign carsharing companies. In 2007, they merged with Flexcar and were able to keep the Zipcar name. In 2009, they acquired a minority stake in Avancar, the largest carsharing company in Spain. And in 2010, they purchased London-based carsharing enterprise Streetcar.
The renovation of Zipcar’s new corporate HQ took $2.6 million to complete. The new location at 35 Thomson Place features 42,600 square feet in the 6-story building. While Zipcar was purchased earlier this year for $500 million and will operate as a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, the company hopes to continue providing the level service car renters have come to expect. (Boston Globe, BBJ)