National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

Avis China responds to H1N1 flu

By  Han Tianyang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-20 10:08

Avis China Anji Car Rental and Leasing Co Ltd, with services in 17 cities across the nation, has plans in place to fight the H1NI flu after the mainland confirmed its first case on May 11.

Avis China trade union members get a delivery of protective materials ready for staff at its airport outlet. [China Daily]

The company has begun even stricter precautionary measures that promote health, while issuing daily reports and increasing sanitation inspection.

Related readings:  Avis China seeks tie-up with airlines  Avis opens new branch in China  Avis, Angel JV to start operations by year end

It also sent emails to all employees imparting knowledge about how the virus spreads and how to avoid infection. Branch offices of Avis China are also giving health lessons to their front-line staff.

As one of the biggest car rental companies in China, Avis provides both daily rental and long-term leasing with or without drivers, as well as transfer services like airport pick up services.

Because of the frequent exposure to clients from different countries and regions, car rental companies such as Avis are more likely to be affected during a potential epidemic.

Response

To ensure the health and safety of both passengers and drivers, Avis China has established a lead group to take charge of implementation of the emergency plan.

The company has postponed most business trips and uses video teleconferencing instead of face-to-face meetings. All its offices are sterilized daily and any abnormal situation would be reported immediately.

Avis also provides personal protective equipment including masks, liquid soap, disinfectants and disinfection wipes to all its staff, especially drivers at airport transfer services. The company also equips its cars with special kits containing thermometers and medicines and gives free protective products to passengers.

The company continues to conduct strict sanitation inspection on its vehicles and compiles cleaning archives on all cars. After complete sterilization of cars, it disposes of resulting refuse in a safe and ecological way.

Company profile

Avis became one of the world's first car rental operations at airports when it was founded by Warren Avis at an airport in Detroit in 1946.

With only $85,000 in capital and just three cars, Avis built his namesake into a leading global company with 4,700 branches in more than 170 countries and regions employing about 19,000 people and offering an inventory of more than 500,000 vehicles.

In China, Anji Car Rental & Leasing Co Ltd, a joint venture by Avis Europe plc and Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Co Ltd (SAISC) founded in 2002, has also developed into a large company with more than 1,900 employees and a fleet of over 4,000 vehicles. It provides rental services in 24 outlets in 17 cities.

"It is the social responsibility of an enterprise to maintain stable operation under unusual circumstances, and to protect its employees and clients during any crisis," said AVIS China's General Manager Zhang Haibo.

Avis called for all companies in the car rental industry to take action to protect from potential exposure to the H1N1 flu and to fulfill their obligations through effective risk management, said Zhang, who is also the head of the company's epidemic prevention and control lead group.