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Javier Garcí­a Gonzalez

MEXICO - Tourism

Smart Mobility

Chief Business Development Officer, Mex Rent a Car

Bio

Javier Garcí­a Gonzalez is the Co-Founder of both Mex Rent a Car and Mex Travel Tech and has a degree in International Commerce from ITESO. As Chief Business Development Officer, he is responsible for coordinating a young team and envision ways to influence the mobility system of Latin America.

Aware of global mobility trends, the company is launching car sharing and ride hailing programs and working with the government to promote organized transportation.

What were your operational results in 2018 and how do they compare to 2017?

We achieved 18% growth in 2018 YoY. Our goal is to grow 12% in 2019 with annual sales of MXN900 million for car rental and international royalties.

What differentiates your services from other car rental companies?

We offer an inclusive product on our website with a simple rental process and the lowest required deposit in the market. Our variety of cars stands out in the market. We plan to expand our presence in Querétaro, Culiacán, and two locations in downtown Mexico City. We will also expand our affiliate program, which at present is in 42 locations in 20 different countries, to 100 locations in 35 countries. Notably, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint. We will replace 400 vehicles in our fleet with hybrid cars such as Toyota Prius, Prius C, Hyundai Ioniq, Toyota Camry, Rav4, and Kia Niro, among others.

Why is the company deciding to expand into three more cities?

Querétaro’s airport has the highest growth percentage in the country. Even though it is a small airport, its potential is relevant for the business sector and Mexico-American travelers that come back to Mexico to visit their relatives. Moreover, the airport in Culiacán is being consolidated for the business sector. It is essential for every business in Mexico to have presence in the capital, since it has the highest number of tourists flying to other locations across the country.

What is your outlook on tourism in Mexico, and how does this impact demand for your services?

Approximately 73% of the tourism in Mexico is domestic, which we find amazing. The growth of low-cost airlines impacts our industry positively since they now connect different destinations within the country. This leads to an increase in demand for our services.

What will the future of mobility in Mexico look like?

Car sharing and ride hailing will continue to have relevance for new generations. The traditional car rental is obligated to evolve so it can work as a hybrid. We are also focused on making the rental process simpler in different ways. For example, in the future, the owner will have most of the responsibility, not the driver. We are adapting to this changing reality by investing in our technology department to add value to every chain of the company. We have developed a ride-hailing platform and will soon launch our car-sharing platform as well. We estimate to launch these by end-2019. The ridesharing project is our priority, and ours is a great and stable platform. Equally important, ride sharing will help to reduce our carbon footprint significantly.

When it comes to providing transportation to and from airports, in what ways are you starting to discuss it with the public sector?

We are also willing to collaborate with the public sector on transporting people to and from airports on electric buses. There are many ways to approach it; however, coordination is needed between airports and the private and public sectors. Our proposal is to develop a mobility center in each airport according to the air traffic of every terminal. This plan must feature, depending on the infrastructure, mass transportation, shared transports, and personalized transportation.

What would you like the new administration to prioritize in terms of mobility?

The focus should be on promoting and supporting the car sharing industry. The public sector should also promote car sharing in government departments to make efficient usage of public resources and parking spaces. Another idea is to incentivize the use of electric or hybrid cars. The government should also standardize and coordinate mobility centers at airports to promote the organized use transportation.

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