Budget Car Rental – Company History

1958
Budget Rent a Car is founded in Los Angeles by Morris Mirkin with a $10,000 investment. The company name is chosen to appeal to the “budget-minded” or “value-conscious” renter.

1959
Mirkin’s distant relative, Jules Lederer becomes enamored with the Budget concept and creates a leasing company to help Mirkin increase his fleet and grow the business.

1960
Lederer and Mirkin form Budget Rent a Car Corporation in Chicago, and the company grows rapidly, both nationally and internationally.

1986
Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management and selected investors, buy Budget from Transamerica Corp. in a leveraged buyout transaction.

1987
Budget announces its initial public offering of 3.2 million shares.

1992
Budget moves its long-time downtown Chicago headquarters to Lisle, IL.

1997
Budget is bought by Team Rental Group, Budget’s largest U.S. franchisee, and changes its name to Budget Group, Inc. Budget Group begins trading on the NYSE.

Later that year, Budget unveils “Unlimited Budget,” a travel agent loyalty program through which members can receive a free Unlimited Budget debit MasterCard and earn valuable points for completed bookings.

1998
Budget introduces “Fastbreak,” its paperless-transaction express service. The company also launches “Perfect Drive,” a customer loyalty program that awards Calloway golf clubs, Bolle ski goggles, and other valuable items.

2002
Budget Group is de-listed from the NYSE and sells its Budget Rent A Car assets in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand to Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), a diversified global provider of business and consumer services primarily within the travel and real estate sectors.

Other worldwide assets are sold to Avis Europe, Plc.

Cendant moves Budget headquarters from Lisle, IL to Parsippany, NJ.

2003
Budget rolls out the “Budget Business Program,” a corporate discount program that offers small and mid-sized businesses low corporate rates, complimentary Fastbreak service and no additional driver fees.

Budget launches “Budget Pride,” a comprehensive employee motivation program.

Budget partners with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to help promote its “Tie One On For Safety” program.

2004
Budget’s parent company, Cendant Car Rental Group, is named “One of America’s Elite 11 Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises” by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Budget completes its upgrade on the industry-approved Amadeus Global Distribution System to provide travel agents with real-time access to its reservation system. The addition of Amadeus now provides a seamless, transparent interface to all four of the industry’s major global distribution systems.

2006
Cendant Corporation separated into four independent companies: Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide, Travelport, and Avis Budget Group, Inc. Through this separation, Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. became a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group.