China Auto signs strategic alliance

China Auto Rental has obtained strong financial support from investors including Lenovo and Warburg Pincus.

Experts said the Hertz cooperation will further strengthen the Chinese company both financially and in terms of its brand, widening the gap between it and its main competitors while paving the way for possibly raising cash on the international capital markets.

Hertz entered the Chinese market in 2002. However, it largely suspended its rental business on the mainland in 2006, after it ended a cooperation with Chinese partner China National Automotive Anhua (Tianjin) International Trade Co Ltd.

China Auto Rental's biggest rival, the Shanghai-based car rental company eHi Auto Services Co Ltd, received a $70 million investment from a consortium, in which Goldman Sachs was the lead investor, in 2010. It used the money to further expand its fleet and its presence throughout the country.