Travel tech firm Mobacar gets multimillion-euro investment

Kerry-based travel technology company Mobacar has signed a multi-million investment deal with global car rental brokerage Auto Europe and venture capital firm Delta Partners. The deal values the Killarney-headquartered company at €20 million and will create 11 new jobs in Kerry.

The company already employs 30, including six data scientists working on the world’s first intelligent car rental and ground transportation distribution platform for airlines and online travel agencies.

As well as increasing staff, Mobacar will use the investment to accelerate its retail intelligence products and technology.

The partnership connects Auto Europe’s global supply network in 180 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America with Mobacar’s data-science-driven intelligent car rental distribution platform.

Niall McDevitt, European CEO of Auto Europe, said the partnership “not only enhances the distribution possibilities for our 12,000 B2B partners worldwide but also offers us the perfect solution to go out and win more B2B business.”

Mobacar founder and chief executive Mike Webster said the partnership "will disrupt a stagnant non-data driven industry". He said the strategic partnership means that airlines and online travel agencies can offer their consumers something absolutely unique through Mobacar's retail intelligence platform be it for car rental, motor-homes, airport transfers or luxury cars.

Mobacar have developed an intelligent distribution platform for all forms of ground transportation – car hire, transfers, motorhomes, motorcycles and helicopters.

The company connects online travel companies and their customers such as airlines and online travel agents to a global network of transportation options in real time.

Auto Europe has one of the world’s largest car rental brokerage businesses with over 2.5 million bookings per year .