- D'Ieteren
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Coordinates: 50°49′19″N 4°21′37″E / 50.82194°N 4.36028°E
D'Ieteren SA is a company, based in Belgium that is engaged in the automobile distribution, short-term car rental, and vehicle glass repair and replacement businesses.[1]
Contents
Activities
D'Ieteren is a group of services to the motorist founded in 1805, serving over 19 million customers in 120 countries in three areas:
– D'Ieteren Auto distributes Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Yamaha vehicles across Belgium. It is the country's number one car dealer, with a market share of nearly 20% and more than one million vehicles of the distributed makes on the road. Sales in 2009: 2.4 billion euro.
– Belron (92.7% owned) is the worldwide leader in vehicle glass repair and replacement. 1,900 branches and 9,400 mobile vans, trading under 15 different brands including Carglass, Autoglass and Safelite, serve customers in 34 countries. Sales in 2009: 2.4 billion euro.
– Avis Europe (59.6% owned, listed on the London Stock Exchange) is a leading short-term car rental company. With its Avis and Budget brands, it operates through more than 3,900 locations in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. Rental income in 2009: 1.2 billion euro.
History
The D'Ieteren venture started in the 19th century when it was founded by master coachbuilder Joseph-Jean D'Ieteren. The D'Ieteren company kept pace with the evolution of the transport industry, developing from a craft business to an industrial and commercial operation.
The company started to manufacture car bodies at the beginning of the 20th century, with production being exported. Later, it moved into the assembly and importing of cars and trucks.
After the Second World War, D'Ieteren obtained the exclusive import rights for Studebaker (1945), Volkswagen (1948) and Porsche (1950). The car rental business commenced in 1956, with the hire of Volkswagen Beetles on the Belgian market. In 1958, D'Ieteren obtained the Avis licence for Belgium.
In 1956, D'Ieteren took on the production of the Piatti scooter, but with the small car market beginning to boom in the mid 1950s, scooter sales were on the decline, so the Piatti came a few years too late.
The company imports and distributes other makes of the Volkswagen group : Audi (1974), SEAT (1984), Skoda (1992), Bentley (2000) and Lamborghini (2001), as well as Yamaha products (1975).
D'Ieteren acquired Belron in 1999. Belron is the world leader in the vehicle glass repair and replacement market. The company operates in Europe and Brazil under the brand names Carglass and Autoglass (Ireland, United Kingdom, Poland), in North America (Canada, United States) as Belron, in Australia under the brand name O'Brien and in New Zealand under the brand name Smith & Smith.
References
External links
See also
Categories:- Companies of Belgium
- Automotive companies of Belgium
- BEL-Mid companies
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