"Sixt SE 

 Sixt, based in Pullach near Munich, Germany, is a European Company (Societas Europaea). It acts as a parent and holding company of the Sixt Group, which is internationally active in the business areas of vehicle rental and leasing. 

 Table Of Contents 

     1 History 
     2 Management 
     3 Businesses 
         3.1 Car Rental 
         3.2 Leasing 
         3.3 Other areas of business 
     4 Provocative Advertising 
     5 Web links 

  

  

 == Background == 

 In 1912, Martin Sixt founded the company with a fleet of three cars, making Sixt, by its own account, the first car rental company in Germany. [2] The target group for Sixt’s luxury vehicle rent a car service were wealthy foreign clients. During the First World War, the fleet was confiscated and made available to the German Army. At the outbreak of World War II, the fleet was once again seized. After the war, the company rebounded quickly, establishing a taxi fleet for members of the US Army. It then opened a taxi business in Munich with the first radio taxis. 

 In 1951, the car rental company Auto Sixt was founded. In the sixties and seventies, the company expanded by opening branches at all major airports in Germany. In 1982, Auto Sixt was renamed Sixt Autovermietung GmbH, with the name Sixt/Budget in the logo. In 1986, the company was transformed again, this time becoming Sixt AG, a corporation traded on the German stock exchange. In 1988, the subsidiary Sixt Leasing GmbH was established. In 1993, the operating business of the AG was handed over to another subsidiary, Sixt GmbH & Co Autovermietung KG. Sixt AG acted thereafter as a holding company of the Group. 

 In the nineties, Sixt rose to become Germany's largest car rental company. At the same time, the Group expanded its business abroad to countries including Switzerland, France and Great Britain. Tunisia, Morocco and New Zealand followed in 1998, representing Sixt’s first presence outside of Europe. In 2001, Sixt expanded to the Middle East as well as other countries of Africa. Sixt began operating in the United States in 2011. [3] 

 In 1993, Sixt took over its competitor Autovermietung Buchbinder, operating the brand briefly before finally discontinuing it. As Sixt had failed to secure the naming rights, Buchbinder was subsequently re-established and was able to continue operating in the market. [4] 

 In 1999, the Bundesgerichtshof Federal Court (BGH) issue a landmark judgment against Sixt for illegal price fixing, requiring it to pay damages to its franchisees. Sixt had controlled de facto the pricing for the independent franchisees prices, as they were part of the Germany-wide reservation system. In the event of pricing discrepancies, the rental agreements were returned to Germany.[5] This was deemed inadmissible under German antitrust law (price fixing of the second hand) and forbidden by the BGH. [6 ] 

 In 2003, the corporation was forced to defend itself against Hedge Fund Manager Florian Homm, who had speculated on declining stock prices. Homm was ultimately fined for price manipulation. [7] 

 In 2006, Sixt made a bid to take over its competitor Europcar when owner Volkswagen offered it for sale. In addition to antitrust concerns (Sixt at that time had approximately 23% market share, Europcar 22%), there was also resistance on the part of the Europcar works council, which feared job cuts after the merger. [8] Volkswagen finally accepted an offer by the French investment company Eurazeo . [9] 

 Since 2007 and via subsidiary company, Sixt has operated the online brokerage of motor vehicles with the websites Autocommunity Carmondo, Mystocks, RadAlert, Winebase and autohaus24. [10] 

 In 2010, former employees claimed that Sixt was opposed to setting up a works council. The company's management denied the allegation. [11] 

 In 2013, Sixt AG was converted to the legal form of a European Company (Societas Europaea) and since then has been called Sixt SE. [12] As part of the transition, a European Works Council (""Sixt Europe Leaders Forum"") was founded in