STARCAR
STARCAR is a German car rental brand being relaunched by Sixt to serve individual consumers and business travelers through planned rental stations at airports, train stations, and downtown locations nationwide. It is currently in pre-launch status.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What STARCAR does
STARCAR is a German car rental brand currently being relaunched under the operational umbrella of Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG, the rental operating entity of the publicly listed Sixt SE & Co. KGaA group. Per available firmographic data, the company was founded in 1987 and reports 51-100 employees. The brand plans to deliver short-term vehicle rental services to individual consumers and business travelers through a planned network of physical stations at German airports, train stations, and downtown urban centers. As of the source material dated to September 2025, the brand is in pre-launch status — its website displays "Coming soon" and collects email addresses for a single launch notification, while redirecting immediate rental demand to the parent group's sixt.de site.
The underlying offering is a standard car rental services platform with no proprietary technology stack, no mobile app, no API surface, and no disclosed integrations or AI capabilities. Revenue is generated through transactional vehicle rental fees; pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no partnership, patent, or certification data is available. Distribution is planned entirely through physical retail stations across three formats — airport, rail, and urban — with the only active marketing channel being a pre-launch email capture form on starcar.de. The legal entity behind the imprint is Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG (HRA 81 061, Amtsgericht München), with general partner Sixt Verwaltungs-GmbH seated in Vienna, Austria.
Leadership includes CEO Jens Erik Hilgerloh, who publicly stated (September 2025) that the brand is on track strategically and expanding market position via synergy effects. Founders Maik Grabow and Tobias Höpfner are listed in available leadership data. The operating entity is headquartered at Zugspitzstraße 1, Pullach, Germany, while a news reference cites Hamburg-based operations. No funding rounds, M&A activity, or independent financial disclosures exist for the StarCar brand; it functions operationally as a sub-brand or DBA of the Sixt group.
STARCAR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- STARCAR
- Legal name
- Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG
- Website
- https://starcar.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- STARCAR is a German car rental brand being relaunched by Sixt to serve individual consumers and business travelers through planned rental stations at airports, train stations, and downtown locations nationwide. It is currently in pre-launch status.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
STARCAR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Car Rental Services
- NAICS
- Passenger Car Rental and Leasing (53211), Passenger Car Rental (532111)
- SIC
- Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty Vehicle Rentals (SUVs, Convertibles, 4x4) (THADAAAH)
Keywords
Where STARCAR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
STARCAR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Personnel
Revenue model
- Car Rental Services: Standard car rental services where customers rent vehicles for specified periods. The company operates at stations across Germany including airports, train stations, and downtown locations. Revenue is generated through vehicle rental fees to individual and business customers.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels1 record
STARCAR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
StarCar is a car rental brand being relaunched in Germany, offering vehicle rental services at planned stations across the country including airports, train stations, and downtown locations. The brand is operated by Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG and targets individual consumers and business travelers needing temporary vehicle access. The service is currently in pre-launch status with exact station locations and launch date to be announced.
Product overview
StarCar is a single car rental brand being relaunched in Germany. The service will operate at stations across Germany at airports, train stations, and downtown locations, and is operated by Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG. The launch is pending with exact locations and launch date to be announced.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- StarCar Car Rental Service
Companies that use STARCAR
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
STARCAR technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
STARCAR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
STARCAR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Uber: Uber operates broad mobility services in Germany including UberX and Uber Black, providing an alternative to short-term car rental for urban and airport-bound customers. Adjacent incumbent that competes with STARCAR's downtown and airport customer segments for first/last-mile mobility spend.
Direct peers
- Avis Budget Group: Avis operates airport-centric car rental locations across Germany under the Avis and Budget brands, serving business and leisure travelers with a comparable fleet and counter service model. Direct competitor for STARCAR at every planned airport station.
- Sixt SE: Sixt SE is the publicly-listed parent company operating STARCAR and Germany's largest domestic car rental brand. STARCAR will compete head-to-head with Sixt's core German operations for the same airport, train station, and downtown customers, making Sixt the single most direct comparable on fleet, channel mix, customer profile, and unit economics.
- Europcar Mobility Group: Europcar operates a major car rental network across German airports and train stations with comparable passenger-car fleet, counter-based service model, and corporate/leisure customer mix. As one of the top three international brands in Germany, Europcar is a direct competitor for STARCAR's planned hub-and-spoke footprint.
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Enterprise operates the largest car rental fleet in Germany via Enterprise, Alamo, and National, with strong airport and downtown presence. Competes with STARCAR for the same business and leisure customers across all planned channel types.
- Hertz Global Holdings: Hertz operates airport-focused rental locations throughout Germany under Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty brands, targeting business and premium leisure travelers. Direct competitor for STARCAR's planned airport station network and similar premium-segment customer base.
Emerging players
- Flinkster (Deutsche Bahn): Flinkster is Deutsche Bahn's carsharing and rental service operating at German train stations and urban locations. While structurally different (carsharing-led), it competes with STARCAR's planned train station and downtown stations for short-trip urban mobility customers.
- Getaround: Getaround is a peer-to-peer and short-term car rental platform with European operations, representing an emerging digital-first model of car rental. Relevant as an alternative paradigm STARCAR's 'rethought' positioning may be responding to, though not a direct German competitor at present.
Regional players
- Buchbinder Rent-a-Car: Buchbinder is a German-headquartered car rental brand operating primarily within Germany with airport and city locations, competing in the same mid-market segment STARCAR targets. A relevant regional incumbent with comparable footprint and customer overlap.
- Wucher Autovermietung: Wucher is a long-established German regional car rental operator with airport and city stations, competing in the same traditional counter-service rental segment. Comparable mid-tier positioning and customer mix to STARCAR's planned offering.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
STARCAR social profiles
Digital presenceSTARCAR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
STARCAR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
STARCAR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
STARCAR M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about STARCAR
What does STARCAR do?
StarCar is a car rental brand being relaunched in Germany, offering vehicle rental services at planned stations across the country including airports, train stations, and downtown locations. The brand is operated by Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG and targets individual consumers and business travelers needing temporary vehicle access. The service is currently in pre-launch status with exact station locations and launch date to be announced.
Is STARCAR a public or private company?
STARCAR is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was STARCAR founded?
STARCAR was founded in 1987. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is STARCAR based?
STARCAR is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does STARCAR make money?
One revenue line is on record: car Rental Services.
Who are STARCAR's main competitors?
Uber is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Avis Budget Group, Sixt SE, Europcar Mobility Group, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hertz Global Holdings. Emerging players are Flinkster (Deutsche Bahn) and Getaround. Regional players are Buchbinder Rent-a-Car and Wucher Autovermietung.
Does STARCAR have an API?
No public API is recorded for STARCAR.
What industry is STARCAR in?
STARCAR's product category is Car Rental Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THADAAAH, Specialty Vehicle Rentals (SUVs, Convertibles, 4x4). Its NAICS code is 53211 and its SIC code is 7510.