Avis Car Rental in Singapore

Avis is a car rental company that runs with the tagline “We try harder” which originated from the United States and has a strong brand identity that is known all over the world. Avis tries to work hard in order to achieve by going an extra mile for its customers. Avis has grown steadily from the time it was incepted in Singapore in 1972 through Asia as well as other operations being opened in other neighboring countries. In the current state, it has opened four operations in Singapore, as a sign of steady growth and bright future. Avis has been ranked second worldwide and fifth in Singapore market as it stands out with strong performance in terms of fair pricing, billing and order-taking which has endeared this company to many of its customers.

Avis Singapore draws its strengths from the rich history it has. Being launched in Singapore and carrying the name Singapore with it, it is able to sell itself within the country, as they say “charity begins at home”. It has its origin that came from the United States of America thus when foreign people wish to hire vehicles for themselves of a company with American descent, they are likely to flock into the Avis Singapore. Another strength can be derived from the market share top-five car rental companies where Avis Singapore comes at a decent position of five nationwide which shows that it has the commanding market in the small island country. That notwithstanding, Singapore has made inroads into the country and it is launching more operations by means of an extended clientele thus bringing more revenues for the company.

The weakness of Avis Singapore is that during many years it has been in existence, it has not been able to make inroads to the whole of Singapore but has opened only four operations in there. It should have at least an operation in each major Singaporean town within that period. The marketing strategy seems to have failed in Singapore, as it is hard to understand how the company that was established in the 1970s and became the second worldwide yet is beaten to fifth in market share of car rental companies. The slogan used by the company should be reformatted into a catchier and trendier slogan, as this tends to gloat over the company’s achievement other than to attract customers. No customer would want to get into a vehicle that has to work hard; rather he or she is supposed to enjoy the ride.

The opportunities arise from the introduction of the off-peak car scheme that replaced the weekend car scheme as it offers new and existing car owners the option to save on car road taxes and registration fees though with a trade-off in reduced car usage (Tan 2001). This scheme has given many Singaporeans the ability to own vehicles though they can use them in off-peak hours and weekends. Avis can then capitalize on the peak hours and offer lease services. Another opportunity is the increased target customer base as per the survey conducted by the Avis Singapore staff and identified the company’s customer group, to whom they should narrow their services. The groups include the Singapore drivers, both married and unmarried, tourists holidaying in Singapore and the expatriates living in Singapore. Avis can make good of these opportunities and then they can make a brisk business (Lewis 2003).

Threats to Avis include the high cost included in investing in a vehicle in Singapore. Running car rentals also requires high running costs and the taxes imposed by the government do not help much. The rapid depreciation due the corrosiveness of this country’s environment adds to the losses incurred by the vehicles’ owners. Another threat to Avis Singapore is the advancement of public transport system as shown by the Circle Line of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transport. The excellent public transport system has resulted in buses running on the schedule with passengers arriving at their destinations punctually. All of these coupled with lowering of bus fares has fueled the increased use of this system by commuters. Other threats include the business elite who form the bulk of car rental service going for the more expensive options such as limousines, thus threatening to drive the middle car rentals out of business. These factors are threatening to put car rental companies, and in particular Avis Singapore, into oblivion and drive them into extinction.

The projected future growth of Avis is on a very slow rate. This is a result of the challenges and threats that Avis face. Taking into account the share market influence, Avis is in the fifth position and dethroning the companies above it is a daunting task but that it is still manageable. Though the future may seem bleak for Avis Singapore because of the threats that face Avis, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. The opportunities that the company has can propel it to the greater heights. Being one of the top five car rental companies and having an international goodwill, this company can vigorously market itself as per the survey conducted and targeting those groups with earnest.

In order to gain a competitive edge over its rivals, Avis Singapore should invest heavily in capital and introduce vehicles that cater for all the market including the luxury limousines for the business executives and sport cars. It should embark on a vigorous marketing campaign where it should identify itself with the Singaporean roots. It should offer competitive prices and quality service to their customers. They should also ensure that their fleet is regularly serviced to avoid clients’ inconveniences. Avis can decide to “go green” and introduce a fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles (Povey 2006). These will win them the international accolades thereby selling company to Singaporean in addition to cutting fuel costs in as well as running costs.

The factors that affect to boost the car rental business in Singapore include advancement in technology whereby clients are able to rent vehicles online or get the information about their availability through a simple click of a button or even though a simple text. Technology has also assisted the rental owners to keep track on their vehicles via satellite (for vehicles fitted with global positioning system) which boosts the owners’ confidence that their vehicles are safe and can be easily located when stolen. Increase in population has fueled the need to transport more people to their places of which tend to overstretch the public transport system thus some people would rather rent a car than depend on the public transport system. Increased fuel costs are running businesses into losses and as a result of increased running costs while earning tend to remain the same thus owners opt to pull their vehicles off the road. Travel advisories resulting from terror threats have led to decrease in number of tourists leading to decrease in the number of people using the car rental services.