Sixt

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File:Transporter Sixt.jpg with Sixt]]

File:Sixt Iveco truck in Germany.JPG with Sixt]]

In 1912, Martin Sixt founded the company with a fleet of three cars, creating the first car rental company in Bavaria. During the First World War, the fleet was confiscated and used by the German Army. After the war, business resumed, but the fleet was once again seized by the German Army at the outbreak of World War II. When the war concluded, the company rebounded, establishing a taxi fleet for members of the United States Army stationed in Germany. It then opened a taxi business in Munich with the first radio taxis.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}} 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|date=December 2022}}

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|date=February 2020}} Also in 1993, Sixt bought the assets of its competitor Autoverleih 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.

{{Cite web

| url = http://www.buchbinder.de/

| title = BUCHBINDER: buchbinder.de

| work = buchbinder.de

}}

In 1999, the Federal 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.{{cite web |url=http://dejure.org/dienste/vernetzung/rechtsprechung?Gericht=BGH&Datum=02.02.1999&Aktenzeichen=KZR%2011/97 |title=BGH, 02.02.1999 - KZR 11/97 |website=dejure.org}}

File:Erich Sixt.jpg

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/florian-homm-ein-enfant-terrible-wird-zahm-1229480.html|title=Florian Homm: Ein Enfant terrible wird zahm|author=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH|date=16 July 2006|work=FAZ.NET}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/autovermietung-sixt-ich-will-keinen-neid-schueren-1253428.html |title=Autovermietung: Sixt: 'Ich will keinen Neid schüren' |date=14 July 2005 |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung}}

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 Europcar works council, which feared job cuts after the merger.{{cite web |url=http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/artikel/0,2828,398596,00.html |title=Volkswagen: Sixt bei Europcar in der Endrunde|date=1 February 2006 |work=manager magazin}} Volkswagen finally accepted an offer by the French investment company Eurazeo.{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/automobile-vw-verkauft-autovermieter-europcar-nach-frankreich-1301695.html |title=Automobile: VW verkauft Autovermieter Europcar nach Frankreich |date=9 March 2006 |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.autohaus24.de/impressum |title=Impressum |website=autohaus24.de}}

File:SIXT Shared Car in Munich.jpg

In 2010, former employees claimed that Sixt was opposed to setting up a works council. The company's management denied the allegation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/172544.sixt-bremst-betriebsraete-aus.html|title=Sixt bremst Betriebsräte aus (neues deutschland)|first=Peter|last=Nowak|website=www.neues-deutschland.de}} In 2011, the company opened its first branch in the USA in Florida.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2017/11/20/the-biggest-car-rental-firm-youve-never-heard-of-german-magnate-erich-sixt-plans-major-u-s-push/|title=The Biggest Car Rental Firm You've Never Heard Of: German Magnate Erich Sixt Plans Major U.S. Push|last=Feldman|first=Amy|date=2017-11-20|website=Forbes|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}} In 2013, Sixt AG was converted to the legal form of a European Company (Societas Europaea) and since then has been called Sixt SE.{{cite web|url=http://handelsregister-online.net/neueintragung.cfm?cn=3894679|title=Sixt SE HRB 206738 Neueintragung Handelsregister|work=handelsregister-online.net}} As part of the transition, a European 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/maerkte/ipo/boersengang-sixt-leasing-wird-unabhaengig/11741296.html|title=Börsengang: Sixt Leasing wird unabhängig|agency=Reuters|date=7 May 2015|work=handelsblatt.com}}

At the beginning of 2018, Sixt sold its shares in car sharing service DriveNow for 209 million euros to its joint venture partner BMW.{{Cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/english/companies/why-own-a-car-car-rental-sixt-wants-to-become-the-uber-uber/23581018.html?ticket=ST-4436372-4uxHtIz6UhY14NSEKXr4-ap3|title=Car rental Sixt wants to become the uber-Uber|last1=Brower-Rabinowitsch|first1=Grischa|last2=Fasse|first2=Markus|date=2018-07-02|website=Handelsblatt|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/autoindustrie/sixt-autovermieter-vernetzt-vermietung-und-carsharing-auf-einer-app-a-1255787.html|title=Sixt verschmilzt Autovermietung und Carsharing|date=2019-03-01|website=Manager Magazin|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}}

In 2020, Sixt sold all its shares in Sixt Leasing SE in order to focus its business on its mobility services.{{Cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/autovermietung-sixt-verkauft-leasing-tochter-an-hyundai-bank/25571994.html?ticket=ST-3991896-BNhsySM4kMaCO44bxzit-ap3|title=Sixt verkauft Leasing-Tochter an Hyundai-Bank|date=2020-02-21|website=Handelsblatt|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}} In June 2020, Sixt acquired 10 concessions at U.S. airports from Advantage Rent a Car. The acquisition increased the number of Sixt stations in the United States to more than 85.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/german-car-rental-company-sixt-seizes-opportunity-in-u-s-11595160000|title=German Car-Rental Company Sixt Seizes Opportunity in U.S.|last=Berger|first=Paul|date=2020-07-19|website=Wall Street Journal|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-20/germany-s-sixt-expands-in-u-s-with-airport-car-rental-counters|title=Germany's Sixt Expands in U.S. With Airport Car-Rental Counters|last=Miebach|first=Elisa|date=2020-07-20|website=Bloomberg News|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/30/lyft-expands-its-rental-business-with-sixt-partnership/?guccounter=1|title=Lyft expands its rental business with Sixt partnership|last=Korosec|first=Kirsten|date=2020-07-30|website=TechCrunch|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-03-30}}

In December 2021, the company expanded to Australia via a partnership with the NRMA. 160 branches and a total of 16,000 vehicles are thus franchised under the Sixt brand.{{cite news |last1=Sürig |first1=Dieter |title=Aus Blau wird Orange |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/sixt-aus-blau-wird-orange-1.5478310 |access-date=16 December 2021 |work=Süddeutsche.de |date=2 December 2021 |language=de}}{{cite news |title=Sixt Expands in Australia with Franchise Partnership |url=https://www.autorentalnews.com/10157151/sixt-expands-to-australia |access-date=16 December 2021 |work=Auto Rental News |date=2 December 2021}}{{Cite web |title=SIXT Rent a Car {{!}} Truck Hire, Van and Car Rental |url=https://www.sixt.com.au/ |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=www.sixt.com.au}}

In 2022, Sixt becomes the first car rental company in Europe to offer BYD vehicles.{{cite news | url=https://www.bydeurope.com/article/437 | title=BYD Enters Major eMobility Partnership with SIXT | date=4 October 2022 | work=BYD Europe}}

In December 2023, the company announced it was phasing out Teslas 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 from Stellantis 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.{{Cite news |title= Sixt to Phase Out Teslas from Rental Car Fleet on Poor Resale Value|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-01/sixt-to-drop-teslas-from-rental-car-fleet-on-poor-resale-value |access-date=2024-01-16 |newspaper=Bloomberg|date=December 2023 }}{{Cite news |title= Stellantis Wins Order for 250,000 Cars from Renter Dropping Tesla|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-16/stellantis-gets-order-for-250-000-from-from-sixt-that-s-offloading-teslas?srnd=industries-consumer |access-date=2024-01-16 |newspaper=Bloomberg| date=16 January 2024 }}

Sixt signed a sponsorship agreement with Galatasaray before the start of the 2020-21 football season.

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• {{Official website|https://www.sixt.com/}}

{{Renters}}

{{SDAX companies}}

Category:1912 establishments in Germany

Category:Car rental companies of Germany

Category:Companies based in Munich

Category:Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Category:Multinational companies headquartered in Germany

Category:Retail companies established in 1912

Category:Transport companies established in 1912

Category:Societas Europaea companies