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Enterprise Rent-A-Car Milestone
1957
With seven cars and a hunch that customers will embrace the novel concept of leasing automobiles, Jack Taylor founds Executive Leasing Company in St. Louis.
1962
Jack listens to his customers and hears that they need to rent cars while theirs are in the shop. Executive Leasing Co. adds a rental car business division with a fleet of 17 vehicles. The company also starts a Car Sales division.
1969
Jack and his team decide to expand beyond St. Louis. Unable to use the Executive name in some markets, Jack re-christens his growing operation "Enterprise" in honor of the aircraft carrier aboard which he served as a decorated fighter pilot in World War II.
1970
Enterprise realizes that the best growth opportunities are with hometown renters, not airport travelers. While the rest of the industry competes at the edge of America's runways, Jack takes the company into neighborhoods — where customers live and work.
1974
A branch manager in Orlando starts a new program that provides customers with a free ride to the rental office. The service leads to Enterprise's well-known "We'll Pick You Up" tradition.
1980
Enterprise opens its National Reservation Center, allowing customers to call a toll-free number to reserve Enterprise vehicles nationwide. The company's fleet reaches 6,000 rental vehicles.
1989
The company's name changes to Enterprise Rent-A-Car to reflect the enormous growth of its rental car business. Enterprise has more than 500 locations and more than 50,000 rental vehicles.
1992
Enterprise surpasses $1 billion in annual revenues and nearly 10,000 employees in its work force. Enterprise’s leasing division becomes Enterprise Fleet Services, focusing on serving businesses with small- to mid-sized fleets.
1993
Enterprise opens its first international office in Windsor, Canada. By this time the company has more than 200,000 rental vehicles and 1,500 locations.
1994
Enterprise opens its first European rental office in Reading, England.
1995
Enterprise opens its first on-airport rental location at the Denver International Airport. The company has more than $2 billion in annual revenue and operates more than 250,000 rental vehicles.
1999
Enterprise surpasses the half-million-vehicles mark in its rental and leasing fleet and 4,000 locations worldwide. The company opens its first Rent-A-Truck location.
2004
Enterprise operates more than 6,000 offices in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Germany. In the U.S., it has locations within 15 miles of 90 percent of the entire population. The company has 600,000 rental car and 135,000 Fleet Services vehicles in service. The company surpasses $7 billion in annual revenue.
2006
Enterprise announces its 50 Million Tree Pledge to The Arbor Day Foundation – a commitment to fund the planting of 1 million trees a year for the next 50 years, a total gift of 50 million trees and more than $50 million.
2007
Enterprise Rent-A-Car celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
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