VOLKSWAGEN Group is paying £128.3 million euros to become the sole owner of rental company Europcar after buying the remaining 50% of the firm from Paris-based services group Accor. The move is expected to herald major expansion for Europcar in a bid to overhaul market leader Avis Rent-a-Car as the largest European rental provider.

Europcar has been jointly owned by the two firms since 1991 and Volkswagen says the move to take full ownership is a vote of confidence in Europcar's management team and corporate strategy. The deal is subject to approval by the Europcar and Accor boards who meet on Wednesday, December 15.

Uwe Baunack, managing director of Europcar UK, said: 'The logistics of defleeting and bringing cars on to the fleet can be shared with the Volkswagen fleet. You can lose two weeks in rental time just spent acquiring vehicles and we would expect this to be reduced through better IT links, for example.' Europcar has a fleet of 18,000 vehicles in the UK.