National Car Rental

National Car Rental is a vehicle-rental brand serving business travelers, corporate accounts, government customers, and leisure renters. It was established in 1947 by a cooperative group of independent rental operators and initially developed around airport and downtown rental locations in the United States. The brand’s name and operating model were built around serving travelers who needed a relatively standardized rental experience across multiple locations. National became associated with business travel through airport-focused operations, corporate rental programs, loyalty services, and procedures intended to reduce the time required to collect and return a vehicle. Its customer proposition has historically emphasized convenience, choice, and a more self-directed rental process than a traditional counter-only model. In the United States and Canada, this positioning is especially visible through the Emerald Club loyalty program and the Emerald Aisle service, which allow eligible customers to bypass some counter procedures and select from available vehicles in designated areas. Product availability and program features vary by location, vehicle class, membership tier, and local terms. The brand was part of the Vanguard Car Rental Group, whose portfolio also included Alamo Rent A Car. In 2007, Enterprise Rent-A-Car acquired Vanguard, bringing National and Alamo into the company that became Enterprise Holdings. National consequently operates within a privately held group that also owns and manages Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Alamo. The three brands are positioned differently: National is primarily oriented toward business and frequent renters, Enterprise toward broad neighborhood and replacement-rental demand, and Alamo toward leisure and vacation travel. National’s business includes daily and weekly car rentals, airport rentals, one-way rentals, corporate programs, government and military-related rental arrangements where available, loyalty services, and rentals of cars, SUVs, vans, and other light vehicles. Its international reach is supported through a combination of company-operated activities, subsidiaries, and licensees or franchise partners, so the exact fleet, service menu, and rental terms differ by country. The brand also offers business-account tools and negotiated programs for organizations with recurring rental needs. National is not a separately listed company. It is a consumer-facing brand within Enterprise Holdings, whose operations also include Enterprise Fleet Management and related mobility services. The brand remains active, with its public-facing reservation, loyalty, business, and location network centered on nationalcar.com. Because National is privately held and reports at the parent-company level, detailed brand-level revenue, profit, fleet, and market-share figures are generally not publicly disclosed.

National Car Rental was founded in 1947 in the United States by a group of independent car-rental operators. The organization was created during the early expansion of commercial car rental, when travelers increasingly needed temporary transportation at airports, railway stations, downtown offices, and other points of arrival. A shared national identity helped participating operators market to travelers who wanted a familiar rental name beyond their home city. During the following decades, National developed a broad U.S. location network and became particularly connected with airport and business travel. Like other large rental companies, it expanded its fleet and standardized reservations, billing, vehicle classes, and customer procedures. Its operating model combined centrally supported branding and systems with local rental operations, an approach that allowed the name to be presented consistently while the actual ownership and management of locations could vary. National later became part of Vanguard Car Rental Group. Vanguard operated National alongside Alamo Rent A Car, giving the group exposure to both business-oriented and leisure-oriented rental segments. National’s brand proposition increasingly centered on frequent travelers and corporate customers, while Alamo was marketed more heavily to vacation and leisure renters. The distinction remained important because airport rental companies compete not only on vehicle availability and price but also on pickup speed, loyalty benefits, billing arrangements, and the ability to support travel managers. A major turning point came in 2007, when Enterprise Rent-A-Car acquired Vanguard Car Rental Group. The transaction added National and Alamo to Enterprise’s existing business and created a much larger private rental-car group. The parent company subsequently became known as Enterprise Holdings. National retained its own brand, website, loyalty program, signage, customer proposition, and reservation channels, but gained access to the scale and operating resources of the wider Enterprise organization. National’s loyalty strategy has been built around Emerald Club. The program was designed for repeat renters and offers benefits that can include expedited service, rental credits, and access to vehicle-selection procedures. The Emerald Aisle is the most recognizable part of that proposition in participating locations: qualified customers may select an eligible vehicle from a designated aisle rather than receiving a specific vehicle through a fully counter-based process. Executive and higher membership tiers can provide broader selection or additional benefits, subject to local rules and fleet availability. In the twenty-first century, National has continued to serve airport travelers, corporate accounts, government customers, and leisure renters. Its services include reservations through digital channels, one-way rentals, business-account support, and a fleet spanning passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and other light vehicles. Outside the United States and Canada, operations may be delivered through Enterprise Holdings businesses or independent licensees and partners, meaning that vehicle categories, insurance products, loyalty benefits, and customer procedures are not identical in every country. National remains an active brand within Enterprise Holdings rather than an independently listed company. Enterprise Holdings does not generally publish detailed standalone financial statements for National, so public descriptions are more useful for understanding its history, products, and positioning than for measuring brand-specific financial performance. Today, National is best understood as Enterprise Holdings’ business-travel and frequent-renter-focused brand, complementing Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s broad neighborhood and replacement-rental network and Alamo’s leisure-oriented proposition.

• 2010

  Parent company adopts Enterprise Holdings name

  [6]Parent company adopts Enterprise Holdings nameenterpriseholdings.com

  The parent organization changes its corporate name from Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company to Enterprise Holdings, reflecting its multi-brand structure.

• 2007

  Vanguard joins Enterprise Rent-A-Car

  [5]Enterprise completes acquisition of Vanguard Car Rental Groupenterpriseholdings.com

  Enterprise Rent-A-Car completes its acquisition of Vanguard Car Rental Group, adding National and Alamo to its brand portfolio.

• 1987

  Emerald Club is introduced

  [3]Emerald Clubnationalcar.com

  National launches the Emerald Club loyalty program for frequent renters; program features and qualification rules have evolved over time.

• 1947

  National Car Rental is founded

  [1]National Car Rentalen.wikipedia.org

  A group of independent U.S. rental operators establishes National Car Rental as a shared national vehicle-rental brand.

A premium, business-oriented rental brand emphasizing speed, customer choice, airport convenience, corporate account services, and loyalty benefits.

• Vehicle rental

  Daily and weekly vehicle rentals

  National rents passenger vehicles for short-term personal, business, and leisure use. Reservations may be made for a defined vehicle class, with actual makes and models depending on the location and fleet. Rental periods commonly include daily, multi-day, and weekly arrangements, while pricing, mileage, fuel, taxes, protection products, and driver requirements vary by market.

• Loyalty program · 1987

  Emerald Club

  Emerald Club is National’s loyalty program for repeat renters. Depending on membership level and market, benefits may include expedited rental procedures, rental credits, designated vehicle-selection areas, and other service advantages. Program terms are subject to eligibility, location participation, vehicle availability, and applicable country rules.

• Vehicle-selection service

  Emerald Aisle

  Emerald Aisle is a National service that lets eligible customers select an available vehicle from a designated area at participating locations. It is intended to make pickup faster and give frequent renters more control over vehicle choice. The service is not available at every location and its eligible classes and procedures differ by market.

• Business travel service

  Corporate rental programs

  National provides account-based rental services for companies and other organizations. Depending on the agreement, these can include negotiated rates, centralized billing, traveler or employee administration, reporting, and support for airport and one-way rentals. Program details are negotiated and can vary by customer and country.

• 2007

  National becomes part of Enterprise Holdings’ predecessor organizationM&A

  Background

  National was a principal brand of Vanguard Car Rental Group, which also operated Alamo. Enterprise Rent-A-Car sought to broaden its portfolio and geographic scale through the acquisition.

  Action taken

  Enterprise Rent-A-Car acquired Vanguard Car Rental Group and continued operating National as a distinct customer-facing brand.

  Aftermath

  National remained positioned toward business and frequent renters while operating alongside Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Alamo under the later Enterprise Holdings structure.

  Source

• 2020.01.24

  Reported2020.01.24

  National launches car-and-driver service in China[7]National 在中国推出汽车及司机服务breakingtravelnews.com

  National Car Rental customers in China can book transportation with a vehicle and professional driver through the company’s website and mobile app.

Read more

1. 1National Car Rentalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2National Car Rental official websitenationalcar.com
3. 3Emerald Clubnationalcar.com
4. 4Enterprise Holdings leadershipenterpriseholdings.com
5. 5Enterprise completes acquisition of Vanguard Car Rental Groupenterpriseholdings.com
6. 6Parent company adopts Enterprise Holdings nameenterpriseholdings.com
7. 7National 在中国推出汽车及司机服务breakingtravelnews.com