Reimagining Car Rental

Germany's luxury car rental takes on America

One of Europe’s oldest and most recognized car rental agencies sought to strengthen its presence in the U.S. market. Brand recognition was limited, and competitors dominated key real estate, such as airport rental desks. Sixt needed a renewed push to expand its U.S. foothold.

The challenge was two-fold:

Innovating for a crowded market

Sixt needed innovative solutions to bypass the logistical limitations, like the lack of prime rental locations.

Catching up on years of "UX debt"‍

Their existing digital experience required significant refinement to bring it on par with competitors. Our task was to establish a program that could support both iterative improvements to their current offerings and the introduction of entirely new innovations.

Jumpstarting the effort with two workstreams

We launched an innovation workstream in collaboration with Sixt’s co-CEOs, focusing on reimagining what car rental could look like if it could be reinvented from the ground up. This involved exploring ideas like distributing cars across city parking lots, offering rentals via delivery services, and providing options for renting by the minute, hour, or month. Our role was to build a workflow that allowed Sixt to test these ideas with users and gather meaningful insights.

At the same time, we began the iterative process of refreshing their existing digital product experience. As a branding agency worked on new visual elements, we adapted these for digital products and began fine-tuning user flows. Our team grew from 3 to 12 designers as we created a workflow that would allow for constant refinement and feedback, ensuring that the product could evolve with the market’s needs.

Our solutions addressed problems new and old

We built a flexible workflow that included tools like a multimodal experience platform for booking cars, scooters, or ride-hailing services by the minute, hour, or day. We simplified the decision-making process for users by reducing the car categories and introduced "collections" like “Outdoor Adventures” or “Weekend Warrior” to package vehicles with accessories. We also implemented a system for programmatic notifications, making pre- and post-rental adjustments—like changing cars or extending rental time—seamless for users.

Impact

By establishing a workflow that allowed for ongoing iteration, we gave Sixt the ability to continuously refine their digital products while pushing forward with innovative concepts.

Our next collaboration

After successfully handing off the project to their internal team in 2022, Sixt returned to us to collaborate on a test-and-learn program in 2024, solidifying an ongoing partnership focused on iterative improvements and research.