July 2023: Today, SIXT UK has announced it has appointed a new Managing Director: Andrew Smith, formerly of Avis Group, is taking over from Tim Vetters.  

Andrew Smith joins SIXT after ten years in various roles at Avis Group, where he managed cross country international teams and, most recently, five years leading Avis Budget’s businesses in Denmark and Sweden. 

This included steering both countries through the pandemic period, introducing the Zipcar car sharing brand and implementing a pioneering environmental strategy, with the highest share of electric vehicles in the car rental industry in these countries.   

Andrew Smith also transformed commercial revenues in Denmark, whilst ensuring both countries delivered some of the highest customer satisfaction scores globally. He has a proven track record of creating impact and growing and developing businesses. 

In 2022, SIXT continued to drive growth internationally, increasing its footprint in the United States and Canada whilst also investing heavily in staff expansion, increasing the number of its employees across the Group by more than 1,100 to around 7,500 for the year.  

SIXT continued its growth course in the first three months of 2023 and achieved its highest revenue ever in a first quarter at EUR 695.1million – 19.7% higher than the same period in 2022. 

Testament to the company’s growth, SIXT UK has opened 2 new branches this year – most recently of which is a state-of-the-art branch in Heathrow T2. This new branch makes SIXT the only operator that allows travellers to collect their car at the terminal without having to use a shuttle bus to reach the off-site car rental depots, saving more than 30,000 shuttle trips per year, reducing SIXT and Heathrow airport’s carbon footprint. 

Tim Vetters, who has over 12 years in the industry and has climbed the ladder at SIXT since starting as a branch manager, will remain within the company.   

Andrew Smith, Managing Director of SIXT UK said: “I am delighted to be joining the team at SIXT and am looking forward to helping our UK business continue to develop and grow. SIXT is well-regarded in the industry and it’s my honour to be leading such a proud, passionate and knowledgeable team in the UK.” 

Tim Vetters added: “Having been part of the SIXT UK team for seven years, I can truly say that we have come a long way. Today we are highly respected for our outstanding customer service and strong financial results. As a business we are ready to scale up and I have no doubt Andrew will lead the team towards future success.”