By Mary Lowry
How did SIXT become the go-to premier international limousine hire and car rental service for high-net-worth individuals?
Founded in 1912 as a limousine hire service, SIXT originally offered cars equipped with drivers.
After World War II, the Sixt family purchased radio taxi hardware and expanded its business in this area further. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that SIXT Rent A Car was first founded. The heritage of SIXT Limousine services can therefore be traced back more than 100 years. But in the last decade, the Sixt family went back to their roots with a modern, versatile relaunch of its first venture – their original limousine hire business – to found SIXT myDriver, more recently rebranded as SIXT ride. This complemented its now global premium and highly successful ride-hailing, taxi and chauffeur service business with excellent, qualified drivers from more than 1,500 partners worldwide, underpinned by a state-of-the-art digital platform that provides a range of car classes from Economy all the way to Business SUV and First Class Limousine. Today with SIXT ride, customers can be picked up in less than 10 minutes in 250 major cities of Europe and the USA and book transfers in advance in over 60 countries and 500 cities.
Customers can access SIXT ride via the SIXT app on smartphones to book rides, but many high-net-worth clients prefer to have dispatchers pre-book rides for them via the online portal, which provides a white glove, concierge service. “On average, our clients book two days in advance and make six changes to their reservation – it’s common for high-net-worth individuals to have busy, changeable schedules. We provide 24-hour concierge customer service that seamlessly accommodates any needed changes for our clients,” said Stuart Donnelly, Senior Director for International Corporate Sales for SIXT.
SIXT offers a full range of vehicles with and without drivers, from conventional curbside (aka economy cars) to Mercedes S class limousines, V class vans, and luxury SUVs. SIXT has over 270,000 vehicles in their fleet, which hosts models from some of the best car manufacturers in the world, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and more. “We provide a full range of car classes in both an on-demand and pre-book capacity,” explained Donnelly.
With more than 100 years’ experience providing limousine services, SIXT is a perfect choice for frequent travelers, especially those seeking transportation from airports around the world. “Our management board has strong ties and connections to the aviation industry,” said Donnelly. “That’s important – because we recognize what’s important to business aviation passengers. We’ve designed our services with that in mind. We have a customized workflow and a concierge team to fully support our business aviation customers.” SIXT can provide transportation for every traveler need, including a limousine service, a baggage van for luggage, and an on-demand taxi-type alternative for aviation crew members.
In order to accommodate private jet owners and ensure they receive the best possible price, SIXT has partnered with AVIAA – the only group purchasing organization for general aviation, which helps individual owners-operators (as well as small- to medium-sized commercial airlines) to procure the benefits of bulk purchasing. AVIAA members receive discounted rates when using SIXT.
As a company, SIXT has revenues close to $3 billion euros, and last year had a record profit. They have been family-owned for four generations and over a hundred years, and are fully independent from any of the moving parts of the aviation supply chain to ensure they remain fully objective and customer centric. The company is also dedicated to giving back. Erich Sixt’s wife Regine founded the Regine Sixt Children’s Aid Foundation, which is the official Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) group of the Sixt Group. The foundation supports measures to improve the health and living conditions of children in countries where SIXT has an active business presence and has helped with the construction of orphanages, children’s hospices, schools, and nurseries.
To find out more about SIXT locations, read FAQ, download the app, or book services, you can go to SIXT’s website: www.sixt.com. To book chauffeured service with myDriver, visit www.mydriver.com/app/gb/ business/yX9F6eIAh.
