Car-sharing operator Zipcar’s UK operations are due to close by the end of 2025 as parent company Avis Budget reshapes the business amid mounting losses and rising operating costs.
The US-based platform has told customers it will temporarily suspend new bookings after 31st December, while it begins a formal consultation with its 71 UK employees.
In an email to members, UK boss James Taylor said the firm had launched a formal consultation with employees and bookings due to finish by the end of the month were being honoured.
An Avis Budget spokesperson confirmed the decision to the BBC, stressing that “all other markets remain unaffected” and that UK members will still be able to use Zipcar’s fleet over Christmas and until the end of December.
Zipcar has built a sizable footprint in Britain since launching here more than a decade ago, amassing around 650,000 members who book cars by the hour or day through an app and pick them up from dedicated parking bays.
That makes it the UK’s largest car-sharing operator and the closure represents a significant retreat from a market it had already been narrowing down.
The company pulled back from Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol last year in order to focus on London, where it has more than 550,000 users.
However, the capital-only strategy has not been enough to reverse the financial pressure building on the operation.
In its most recent accounts for 2024, Zipcar pointed to the cost of living crisis as a key drag on demand, with revenue sliding to £47 million from £53m the year before.
Losses after tax widened sharply to £11.6m and, at the same time, the cost base has been rising.
Membership fees cover fuel or charging and continued increases in energy prices last year have increased pressure.
Avis Budget said the UK shutdown, effective from 2026, is part of a wider effort “to streamline operations, improve returns, and position the company for long-term sustainability and growth”.
The move also comes as London’s congestion-charge rules tighten, with electric vehicles due to be included from 26th December.