ARC Europe
Encyclopedia
ARC Europe is the association of major European motoring clubs, principally active in the area of roadside assistance.
These "founding" clubs became the shareholders of ARC Transistance.
Beyond the above shareholders, a significant number of other European non-founding clubs or similar organisations are affiliated with ARC Europe. Today, ARC Europe counts well over 35 clubs or service providers in Europe.
"ARC Europe SA" is a service company owned by the 8 major clubs which functions as a service and coordination center based in Brussels designed to serve member clubs in multiple ways : coordination plus development of business-to-business
or business-to-consumer activities, cooperation in the area of international member discount programmes, trademark management, systems development, etc. The Board of Directors
of ARC Europe SA includes the chief executives or senior officers of the founding clubs. The present Chief Executive Officer of ARC Europe SA is Luc Vanden Bussche.
The major international member product proposed by ARC Europe is "Show your Card!", the European discount programme, which is connected with the AAA Show Your Card & Save programme in the USA, and with similar programmes in Canada
, Mexico
, Australia
, South Africa
, Sri Lanka
, South Korea
, Jamaica
, Japan
, and in multiple other places, allowing more than 100 million members from sister clubs to access discounts within this world wide "discount" web. ARC Europe Show your Card! partners include companies such as Hertz, Hard Rock Cafe
, Best Western
and many more. There are over 25,000 outlets in Europe offering Show your Card! discounts to club members.
Sub-Groups
ARC Transistance - the initial name for ARC Europe - was founded in 1991 by 8 major automobile clubs in Europe :- AAThe Automobile AssociationThe Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
(United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) - ACI (ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) - ADACADACThe ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with more than 17 million members in June 2010. It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911...
(GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) - ANWB (NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) - ÖAMTC (AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) - RACERACE (automobile association)The Real Automóvil Club de España , is the Spanish equivialent of the American Automobile Association in the United States of America or the Automobile Association in the United Kingdom....
(SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) - TCB (BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) - TCS (SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
)
These "founding" clubs became the shareholders of ARC Transistance.
History
In 1998 the brand ARC Europe was first registered by the above automobile clubs for new cooperation in the area of member services. On 1 January 2009, usage of the name and brand ARC Transistance was stopped and transferred to ARC Europe. All European cooperation activities in the organisation are now housed under the ARC Europe masterbrand.Beyond the above shareholders, a significant number of other European non-founding clubs or similar organisations are affiliated with ARC Europe. Today, ARC Europe counts well over 35 clubs or service providers in Europe.
"ARC Europe SA" is a service company owned by the 8 major clubs which functions as a service and coordination center based in Brussels designed to serve member clubs in multiple ways : coordination plus development of business-to-business
Business-to-business
Business-to-business describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer...
or business-to-consumer activities, cooperation in the area of international member discount programmes, trademark management, systems development, etc. The Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of ARC Europe SA includes the chief executives or senior officers of the founding clubs. The present Chief Executive Officer of ARC Europe SA is Luc Vanden Bussche.
The major international member product proposed by ARC Europe is "Show your Card!", the European discount programme, which is connected with the AAA Show Your Card & Save programme in the USA, and with similar programmes in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and in multiple other places, allowing more than 100 million members from sister clubs to access discounts within this world wide "discount" web. ARC Europe Show your Card! partners include companies such as Hertz, Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
, Best Western
Best Western
Best Western International, Inc. is the third largest hotel chain, with over 4,195 hotels in nearly 80 countries. The chain, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, operates more than 2,000 hotels in North America alone. Best Western has a marketing program involving placement of free...
and many more. There are over 25,000 outlets in Europe offering Show your Card! discounts to club members.