The 1,349 sqm technical base, with a total of 210 parking spaces, was created on a property of almost 6,000 sqm by renovating and converting existing buildings.
The total budget of the investment was HUF 705 million, for which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provided a non-refundable competitiveness-enhancing grant of HUF 282 million.
The investment was aimed at preparing AutoWallis for the growth of tourism and thus for the even more cost-efficient operation of Sixt, as well as for the rapid servicing of other mobility services that the group may launch in the future. Another important aspect of the investment was to improve the efficiency of the rental car services and the related logistics, operations, technical and car preparation tasks.
The development was carried out in line with the commitments made in the AutoWallis Green Financing Framework, the part of which, in addition to the state subsidy, was financed by AutoWallis from the proceeds of the green bonds issued last year. The green investments in Sixt's new technical base were carried out by Alteo, under a cooperation agreement signed last year between the two companies.
In line with AutoWallis' green commitments, Alteo installed a 50 kW solar panel system and 13 EV charging points on the property and prepared the system for future connection to an energy storage facility. The technical base is operated with heat-exchanger cooling-heating and LED lighting only, while the vehicles are cleaned by dry and wet hand washing. Significant fuel savings will be achieved by eliminating the need to move rental cars between Sixt service points, and the growing hybrid or fully electric fleet will be able to be charged with electricity from solar panels.
Gábor Dévai, managing director of Wallis Autókölcsönző and member of the AutoWallis board of directors, said that the new site is already operating at full capacity following its opening, as demand for rental car services has already increased significantly in the first half of the year as tourism has picked up.
Traffic at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport grew by 987% in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2021, while Sixt more than doubled the number of rental events (+123.1%) and the number of rental days increased by 29.2% to 39,185. The first quarter figures show a dynamic increase in the number of short-term rentals for tourism purposes.
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