# Auto Europe

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Car rental wholesale company

Auto Europe, LLC. Type Privately held LLC Industry Rental and leasing services Founded 1954 (1954) Area served Worldwide Services Car rental Website www.autoeurope.com

**Auto Europe** is an American international [car rental](/source/Car_rental) wholesale company. Headquartered in [Portland, Maine](/source/Portland%2C_Maine), the company acts as a broker to provide vehicle rental services.[1][2]

Founded in 1954, Auto Europe operates by partnering with international car rental brands to supply traditional rental cars, short-term European vehicle leases, and airport transfer services.

## History

Auto Europe was founded in Germany in 1954 by Alex Cecil. The company initially focused on purchasing vehicles for rental to U.S. travellers in Europe. Cecil later relocated to New York and subsequently moved the company to Maine.[3][4]

In 1995, Auto Europe introduced additional travel-related services, including airfare and hotel bookings under the name Destination Europe. In 2010, this division was rebranded as Fly International.[5]

Cecil retired in 1997, after which the company continued under new leadership.[6]

In 2003, Auto Europe was acquired by private equity firm [TowerBrook Capital Partners](/source/TowerBrook_Capital_Partners).[7] In December 2006, it was acquired by [Court Square Capital Partners](/source/Court_Square_Capital_Partners).[8]

In December 2025, Auto Europe was acquired by Deck2 Capital and a consortium of New York-based credit funds.[9][10]

## Services

### Car hire

Auto Europe works with a number of car rental suppliers including Europcar, Thrifty Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Sixt, National Car Rental, Alamo, Buchbinder, Ezi Car Rental, First Car Rental, County Car Rentals, Rhodium and others.[11]

### European car leasing

The company offers European car leasing through partnerships with Peugeot Car-2-Europe, Renault Eurodrive, Citroën Car-2-Europe and DS Car-2-Europe. The service is available for periods ranging from 21 to 175 days and covers travel in over 40 European countries.

### Motorhome rental

Auto Europe provides motorhome rental services in multiple countries. Suppliers include Star RV, Jucy, Apollo, Maui, Mighty Campers, Britz, Cruise America, Cruise Canada, Bunk Campers, Anywhere Campers, McRent, Road Bear, CanaDream, Just Go, Avis Car-Away and others. The service is available in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, most of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and other markets.

### Luxury car hire

The company offers rental of high-end vehicles including models from Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Range Rover, available in various international locations.

## Awards

Auto Europe has been nominated for multiple World Travel Awards, including in the categories Europe's Leading Car Rental Company (2005–2012), Europe's Leading Business Car Rental Company (2009–2012), and Europe's Leading Chauffeur Company (2013–2014).[12]

The company received a Silver Magellan Award in 2014 in the Car Rental – Overall Luxury Car Collection category.[13]

In 2019, Auto Europe received Gold Magellan Awards in ground transportation categories, including Overall Luxury Car Collection and Car Service – Overall Worldwide Coverage.[14]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Company Overview of Auto Europe, LLC"](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/267627Z:US). *Bloomberg*. Retrieved 22 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Auto Europe"](http://www.bbb.org/boston/business-reviews/auto-renting-and-leasing/auto-europe-llc-in-portland-me-16111/). *Better Business Bureau*. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Founder of Auto Europe Passes at 79"](https://www.travelagentcentral.com/transportation/founder-auto-europe-passes-at-79). *Travel Agent Central*. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Cole, John N. (1990). ["Alex Cecil, founder and chief executive officer of Auto Europe of Portland"](https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/news_times/1743/). *Maine Times*. Retrieved 22 May 2026 – via Portland Public Library Digital Commons.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Auto Europe Launches Fly International"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191020005853/https://www.travelagentcentral.com/tours/auto-europe-launches-fly-international). *Travel Agent Central*. 2010. Archived from [the original](https://trinityrental.com/) on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Limone, Jerry. ["Alex Cecil, Auto Europe founder, dies"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200414154759/https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Car-Rental-News/Alex-Cecil-Auto-Europe-founder-dies). *Travel Weekly*. Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Archived from [the original](http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Car-Rental-News/Alex-Cecil-Auto-Europe-founder-dies) on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["TowerBrook Capital Partners Acquires Auto Europe Group"](https://mergr.com/transaction/towerbrook-capital-partners-acquires-auto-europe). *mergr.com*. Retrieved 22 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Court Square Capital Partners Acquires Auto Europe"](https://mergr.com/court-square-capital-partners-acquires-auto-europe). *mergr.com*. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Mathers, Hugo (2 December 2025). ["Aussie unicorn founder Chris Bayley kicks off $600m roll-up with Auto Europe buy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20251202133433/https://www.capitalbrief.com/article/aussie-unicorn-founder-chris-bayley-kicks-off-600m-roll-up-with-auto-europe-buy-0f5e8594-8406-431d-81ef-70191fca47f0/). *Capital Brief*. Archived from [the original](https://www.capitalbrief.com/article/aussie-unicorn-founder-chris-bayley-kicks-off-600m-roll-up-with-auto-europe-buy-0f5e8594-8406-431d-81ef-70191fca47f0/) on 2 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Deck2, launched by Cover Genius co-founder, makes debut with Auto Europe acquisition and targets $400 million OTA roll-up"](https://www.theinsurer.com/ti/news/deck2-launched-by-cover-genius-co-founder-makes-debut-with-auto-europe-2025-12-02/). *The Insurer*. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Our Car Rental Partners"](https://www.autoeurope.com/our-car-rental-partners/). *AutoEurope*. Auto Europe, LLC. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["World Travel Awards Nominees"](http://www.worldtravelawards.com/profile-151-auto-europe). *World Travel Awards*. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["2014 Magellan Awards Silver Winners"](http://www.travelweeklyawards.com/winners/list/?event=7&category=5&award=S). *Travel Weekly*. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Enterprise, Avis Budget, Hertz, Auto Europe Win Gold Magellan Awards"](https://www.autorentalnews.com/343416/enterprise-avis-budget-hertz-auto-europe-win-gold-magellan-awards). *Auto Rental News*. Retrieved 14 November 2019.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.autoeurope.com/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Auto Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Europe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Europe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.