After Albania, Malta, France, Austria, Poland and Montenegro, Sicily by Car, the Italian car rental operator, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, puts down another brick of the its growth in Europe, opening a branch in Portugal. The company has recently established “Sicily by Car Portugal LDA”, based in Lisbon, the first step that will lead it to be fully operational starting in the country from the month of May to seize the opportunities of the summer season.
The Lisbon garrison is only the beginning of a journey, which will lead the group to expand into the main Portuguese cities, replicating the Italian model, with a widespread presence in national and international airports and in cities with a major tourist vocation. Sicily by Car Portugal was established with a capital of one million, of which the Italian company owns 90%, while 10% is held by Fluttering Village, Unipessoal, which is headed by João Ferreira da Silva Alves, former senior account manager of Industria Automovel, Mercedes-Benz dealership.
“We are pleased to announce our greenfield entry into the Portuguese car rental market, the first concrete action of the international expansion project announced during the listing phase which represents our main growth driver – says Tommaso Dragotto, president of Sicily by Car -. Fluttering Village boasts a solid network of relationships and will make an important contribution to the diffusion of our brand in the country. For these reasons we are very satisfied with their involvement in the project and the sharing of development objectives.”
The opening of the Portuguese branch therefore represents a further step forward in the path of international expansion pursued in recent years, which has led the group to be present in Albania with the subsidiary “SBC Albania Sh.pk”, in Malta in franchising and in France, Austria, Poland and Montenegro through commercial partnerships. The objective is to continue with the growth of the pan-European network under the SbC Europe brand, through commercial partnerships, acquisitions of operating foreign companies or entry from scratch into the market of high potential countries through the opening of proprietary stations. Sicily by Car has the Iberian Peninsula, Northern Europe and the Balkans in its sights. “These are the first stages to continue over a five-year period on a large scale throughout Europe,” confirms Dragotto.