The History of
Hertz
Hertz Rent a
Car’s
fascinating
African
history, that
takes the
company from
WW1’s Battle of Delville Wood
and being the
first car rental
company in South
Africa; through
to
chauffeur-driven
safaris from
Cape to Cairo,
successful
operations in
harbours and
railway
stations, and
some
ultra-dynamic
company chiefs –
is as
exhilarating as
the
international
company has
always proved
itself to be.
It began in
1919, while
Hertz was still
a fledgling
two-year old
company in the
USA, when two
survivors from
the Battle of Delville Wood
started South
Africa’s first
car rental
company in 1919,
called Delville
Wood Motors Car
Hire. Then just
over a decade
later in the
early 1930s, a
young Scotsman
named Bob Murray
bought the
company and
changed the name
to African Car
Hire. He had an
excellent eye
for
opportunities
and launched the
first
chauffeur-driven
tours from the
Cape to Cairo.
Hertz entered
this exciting
business in the
late 1950s
when Murray was
granted the
Hertz franchise
for South
Africa. Another
decade passed
and Hertz’s
first car rental
rival emerged in
1967 with a
young
entrepreneur’s
entry on the
scene. This was
Noel de Villiers
who started Zeda
Car Rental that
later became
Avis Rent a Car
and focused on
airport
locations for
its main
revenue.
