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Australian
family owned rental vehicle group Apollo announced today that
it will be spending AU$16.2 million in Australia and NZ$10.6
million in New Zealand on new vehicle purchases in 2004 to
meet increasing demand.
Luke
Trouchet, CEO of Apollo said, "Our forward bookings are
extremely strong and we have secured a number of additional
travel wholesale contracts for the new season which will bring
us even more business."
Apollo
is now one of the largest recreational vehicle operators in
Australasia with ten branches in Australia and two in Zealand.
It is well known for its top quality fleet of luxury motorhomes
and personalised service. More recently Apollo has gained
publicity for its successful foray into off-airport car rental
with over 300 cars on fleet.
Mr
Trouchet commenting on Apollo Car Rental said, "There
is a gap in the market for a national off-airport car rental
operator who can provide good service and great rates and
we will capitalise on this."
In
Australia the AU$16.2 million will be mainly spent on Mercedes,
Ford and Toyota vehicles. The motorhome bodies will be built
in Apollo's own factory and by leading manufacturers Winnebago
and Swagman.
After
seeing an opportunity to expand into New Zealand Apollo started
operations there in March 2003. Demand has exceeded expectations
and the NZ$10.6 million will be spent on doubling the size
of the current motorhome fleet as well as starting car rental.
For
Apollo, expanding into car rental is a logical step as they
already have infrastructure set up through their network of
motorhome outlets around Australia and New Zealand.
According to Mr Trouchet, the growing popularity of self-drive
holidays for both domestic and international holidaymakers
has fuelled the expansion opportunities.
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