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ST. LOUIS, Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At this year's Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) conference in Las Vegas, Enterprise Holdings stressed that collaboration, transparency and technology-neutral standards across the automotive industry are essential ingredients for maximizing the potential benefits of connected vehicles.

Enterprise's Assistant Vice President of Technology Innovation, Derik Reiser, spoke at the conference as one of four participants in a panel discussion sponsored by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists. The panel discussion – which focused on "The Future Impact of Telematics, Technology, Transportation and the Collision Industry" – also included CCC Information Services, Subaru of America and Verisk. TEDx Speaker and Author John Ellis, of Ellis & Associates, moderated.

The panel reviewed work currently being done to integrate point-of-impact data, telematics and connectivity. The session also provided visibility into what connectivity means for repairers and work done on the shop floor, as well as how it impacts relationships with consumers and others in the process.

Enterprise Holdings – which owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands – believes open, secure access to data not only is the best way to protect the rights of vehicle owners and consumers, but also to ensure third-party suppliers have every opportunity to collaborate and compete. "The true value is when you can connect all the ecosystems," Reiser noted. "We're optimistic about the future of vehicle telematics, but there's a lot we must do as an industry to make it right so that it adds value to people and streamlines processes."

In addition to neighborhood and airport car rental services, Enterprise-branded business lines include: Enterprise CarShare and Car Club; Enterprise Fleet Management (leasing); Enterprise Car Sales; Enterprise Truck Rental and Flex-E-Rent; Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise; Zimride by Enterprise; and Commute with Enterprise (vanpooling). 

Technology Leadership

Enterprise Holdings, which recently announced its fiscal year 2018 results and acquisition and investment strategy, remains an industry leader in mobility, innovation and technology.

In fact, since 2008, Enterprise has spent almost $2.4 billion making acquisitions and corporate-venture capital investments or commitments in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Ireland, Spain, Brazil and China. Acquisitions include car rental companies, carshare operations, technology platforms and franchises. 

Enterprise Holdings' other industry‑leading technology initiatives include:

• Participating in a New York City carsharing program that dedicates 309 parking spots in more than a dozen neighborhoods in four boroughs.
• Partnering with a company that is developing autonomous automotive options for communities across North America.
• Providing mobile tablet technology that digitizes rental transactions, eliminates administrative bottlenecks at rental counters and quickly delivers the kind of information and details that customers are looking for on-site.

Competitive Mobility

Enterprise Holdings not only is the world's largest car rental provider, but also is one of the top global travel companies, ranking ahead of many airlines and most cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies. As a result, Enterprise Holdings plays a significant role in providing competitive mobility options all over the world.

"We all need access to vehicle data to make mobility seamless for the end customer," Reiser said. "With a robust, competitive market in place, innovation will flourish, and businesses and consumers alike will experience tremendous benefits."

That's why the company's goal is to draw attention to potential threats to competition that could negatively impact consumers as well as mobility-related industries, including but not limited to car rental. Enterprise Holdings' focus remains on how the competitive landscape – for autonomous vehicles, their suppliers and the entire mobility ecosystem of service companies – could be impacted by policies deciding who has access to, and ultimately controls, the data. For example:

• The Canadian Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications published a report – "Driving Change: Technology and the Future of the Automated Vehicle" – at the request of the Minister of Transport. More than 78 witnesses, including Enterprise, provided testimony as the committee focused on regulatory and technical issues related to the deployment of automated and connected vehicles. Enterprise Holdings also submitted a brief. The report featured 16 specific recommendations, including "monitoring the impact of automated and connected vehicle technology on competition between the various sectors of the automotive and mobility industries, in order to ensure that sectors such as the aftermarket and car rental companies continue to have access to the data they need to offer their services."
• The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA), of which Enterprise is a member, published a blog: "Canadian Innovation Leadership or Not in the Automotive Sector: Should Just the Automakers Control Access To Data from Autonomous Vehicles?" CATA also developed, in partnership with Enterprise, a video outlining the importance of open access to autonomous vehicle data, including perspectives from the European Economic Community and U.S. markets. 

About Enterprise Holdings
Enterprise Holdings – through its integrated global network of independent regional subsidiaries and franchises – operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands at more than 10,000 fully staffed neighborhood and airport locations. Combined, Enterprise Holdings and its affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management accounted for $24.1 billion in revenue and owned 2 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal year 2018. Enterprise Holdings' regional subsidiaries and Enterprise Fleet Management currently employ 100,000 worldwide. Enterprise Holdings currently is ranked as one of America's Largest Private Companies. Furthermore, if it were publicly traded, Enterprise Holdings would rank on Fortune's list of the 500 largest American public companies.

SOURCE Enterprise Holdings Inc.