1958
Budget Rent A Car is founded in Los Angeles by Morris Mirkin with a $10,000 investment. The company name is chosen to appeal to the "budget-minded" or “value-conscious” renter.
1959
Mirkin's distant relative, Jules Lederer becomes enamored with the Budget concept and creates a leasing company to help Mirkin increase his fleet and grow the business.
1960
Lederer and Mirkin form Budget Rent A Car Corporation in Chicago, and the company grows rapidly, both nationally and internationally.
1986
Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management and selected investors, buy Budget from Transamerica Corp. in a leveraged buyout transaction.
1987
Budget announces its initial public offering of 3.2 million shares.
1992
Budget moves its long-time downtown Chicago headquarters to Lisle, IL.
1997
Budget is bought by Team Rental Group, Budget’s largest U.S. franchisee, and changes its name to Budget Group, Inc. Budget Group begins trading on the NYSE.
Later that year, Budget unveils “Unlimited Budget,” a travel agent loyalty program through which members can receive a free Unlimited Budget debit MasterCard and earn valuable points for completed bookings.
1998
Budget introduces “Fastbreak,” its paperless-transaction express service.
2002
Budget Group is de-listed from the NYSE and sells its Budget Rent A Car assets in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand to Cendant Corporation.
Other worldwide assets are sold to Avis Europe plc.
Cendant moves Budget headquarters from Lisle, IL to Parsippany, NJ.
2003
Budget rolls out the “Budget Business Program,” a corporate discount program that offers small and mid-sized businesses low corporate rates, complimentary Fastbreak service and no additional driver fees.
Budget launches “Budget Pride,” a comprehensive employee motivation program.
2006
Cendant Corporation separates into four independent companies: Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide, Travelport, and Avis Budget Group, Inc. Through this separation, Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. is now a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group.
2009
Avis Budget Group responds to customer feedback and institutes a smoke-free policy in its vehicles. The Company also establishes a smoke-free policy for all employees and contractors who drive its vehicles.
2011
Avis Budget Group acquires Avis Europe plc. The transaction re-unites Avis Budget Group with its licensee for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Avis Budget Group creates three operating regions. These include: North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Latin America/Asia.
