Europcar Group has announced it will take a minority investment in Wanderio, a multi-modal search and comparison platform.

The leader in vehicle rental services and a major player in mobility markets will take the stake through its Lab, an entity focused on innovation.

Europcar hopes the deal will be the next step in the development of its mobility strategy: from car rental to the Europcar Lab, it strives to offer future multi-modular solutions.

Wanderio is an Italian start up created in 2013.

Its ambition is to simplify its customers’ lives by offering them the best transport solution for each journey, with two main criteria: price and journey length.

On the one platform, customers can compare, book and pay to travel by plane, train, long distance bus and airport transfer with car rental soon to be added. 

With more than one million planned trips so far, Wanderio currently features connections to over 700 airports and more than 4,000 rail and bus stations.

The Europcar investment will provide valuable support to further consolidate Wanderio coverage and presence across Europe.

Fabrizio Ruggiero, head of mobility, Europcar, stated: “We are very happy to get involved with Wanderio through a round A investment.

“It is the first time the Lab has invested in such a company, and we see a great potential in their business model and unique approach to comparing different means of transport.”