Audi Drops $28 Million On A Rental Agency

You might think it a bit odd that an automaker like Audi is investing a fair amount of money on a rental car company. There must be something special to this company.

In the case of Silvercar, there is. This rental car company started in 2012 and exclusively rents Audi vehicles finished in silver at a number of airports around the U.S. You can book one via their smartphone app, meaning you skip the lines and paperwork that you would be dealing with at other rental companies. Since the company opened for business in 2012, it has expanded to twelve different cities including New York and Los Angeles. Audi was intrigued and announced that it would invest $28 million into the company.

The investment will be used to help Silvercar expand into new markets around the U.S. Also, Audi and Silvercar will collaborate on the Audi Shared Fleet program that allows companies to loan vehicles out to employees. Audi of America President Scott Keogh will join Silvercar's board of directors.

"Audi's confidence in Silvercar allows us to extend our reach even further, and bring forth the concept of shared mobility into many more markets, applications and product offerings. It is our goal to accelerate the expansion of our successful airport business in order to integrate these new mobility products into the market as soon as possible," said Silvercar CEO, Luke Schneider in a statement.