The global car sharing firm Zipcar has been purchased for $500 million by Avis.

Zipcar’s business of car sharing is expected to expand with increasing fuel prices driving car sharing uptake.

Ronald Nelson, CEO, Avis, said of car sharing: “highly complementary to traditional car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company".

The deal is expected to generate overall savings of $50 to $70 million per year from the acquisition.