 | |
| Sixt | |
| Company type | Public (Societas Europaea) |
| FWB: SIX2 SDAX | |
| ISIN | DE0007231326 |
| Industry | Car rental |
| Founded | 1912; 113 years ago (1912) |
| Founder | Martin Sixt |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Alexander Sixt and Konstantin Sixt (Co-CEOs), Erich Sixt (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)[1] |
| Services | |
| Revenue |  €3.62 billion (2023)[4] |
 €335 million (2023)[4] | |
| Total assets | €6.45 billion (2023)[4] |
| Total equity | €2.00 billion (2023)[4] |
Number of employees | |
| Website | sixt |
Sixt SE is an international mobility service provider with about 2,000 locations in more than 100 countries.[5] Sixt SE acts as a parent and holding company of the Sixt Group,[6] which is internationally active in the business areas of vehicle rental, car sharing, ride-hailing, and subscription.
The majority of the company is owned by the Sixt family, who manage the company. The remaining share is tradeable stock: SIX2 (XETRA).[7]
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In 1912, Martin Sixt founded the company with a fleet of three cars, creating the first car rental company inBavaria. During theFirst World War, the fleet was confiscated and used by theGerman Army. After the war, business resumed, but the fleet was once again seized by the German Army at the outbreak ofWorld War II. When the war concluded, the company rebounded, establishing a taxi fleet for members of theUnited States Army stationed in Germany. It then opened a taxi business in Munich with the first radio taxis.[citation needed] In 1951, the car rental company Auto Sixt was founded.
In 1982, Auto Sixt was renamed Sixt Autovermietung GmbH, with the name Sixt/Budget in the logo. The company was transformed again in 1986, this time becoming Sixt AG, a corporation traded on the German stock exchange. In 1988, the subsidiary Sixt Leasing GmbH was established.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] Also in 1993, Sixt bought the assets of its competitorAutoverleih Buchbinder, operating the brand briefly before finally discontinuing it. Sixt had failed to secure the naming rights, and subsequently Buchbinder was re-established and continued operating in the market.[8]
In 1999, theFederal Court of Justice (BGH) issued a landmark judgment against Sixt for illegal price fixing, requiring it to pay damages to its franchisees. Sixt had de facto controlled 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. This was deemed inadmissible under German antitrust law (price fixing of the second hand) and forbidden by the BGH.[9]
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.[10] In 2005, the Management Board Compensation Disclosure Act (VorstOG) entered into force. Sixt AG became the first company in Germany to exercise the right not to disclose directors' salaries without a shareholder vote of at least 75% majority. CEO Erich Sixt held at this time 56.8% of Sixt ordinary shares, corresponding to 89% of votes at the general meeting, meaning he was essentially able to determine the outcome. Overall, 98% of the voters approved the non-disclosure of executive pay.[11]
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 from the Europcarworks council, which feared job cuts after the merger.[12] Volkswagen finally accepted an offer by the French investment company Eurazeo.[13] Since 2007 and via subsidiary companies, Sixt has operated the online brokerage of motor vehicles with the websites Autocommunity Carmondo, Mystocks, RadAlert, Winebase, and autohaus24.[14]
In 2010, former employees claimed that Sixt was opposed to setting up aworks council. The company's management denied the allegation.[15] In 2011, the company opened its first branch in the USA inFlorida.[16] In 2013, Sixt AG was converted to the legal form of a European Company (Societas Europaea) and since then has been called Sixt SE.[17] As part of the transition, aEuropean Works Council ("Sixt Europe Leaders Forum") was founded in 2013. In May 2015, Sixt brought its subsidiary Sixt Leasing AG to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.[18]
At the beginning of 2018, Sixt sold its shares in car sharing serviceDriveNow for 209 million euros to its joint venture partnerBMW.[19] In February 2019, Sixt started an own mobility platform and a new car sharing service named Sixt share. The services car rental, car sharing, ride hailing and car subscriptions are all combined into one app.[20]
In 2020, Sixt sold all its shares in Sixt Leasing SE in order to focus its business on its mobility services.[21] In June 2020, Sixt acquired 10 concessions at U.S. airports fromAdvantage Rent a Car. The acquisition increased the number of Sixt stations in the United States to more than 85.[22][23] At end of July 2020,Lyft and Sixt announced a joint venture, where Lyft app users can rent a car from both partners through the app.[24]
In December 2021, the company expanded to Australia via a partnership with theNRMA. 160 branches and a total of 16,000 vehicles are thus franchised under the Sixt brand.[25][26][27]
In 2022, Sixt becomes the first car rental company in Europe to offerBYD vehicles.[28]
In December 2023, the company announced it was phasing outTeslas from its lineup following a price cut that hurt residual values in its lineup. The next month, the company announced it was buying as many as 250,000 vehicles fromStellantis NV. The order would be a combination of traditional combustion engine vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and electric cars to be used in Europe and North America. These moves came amid an industry-wide shift in how non-traditional cars would be used. At the time of the announcement, the company still had plans to electrify up to 90% of its fleet in Europe.[29][30]
Sixt signed a sponsorship agreement withGalatasaray before the start of the2020–21 Süper Lig season.
