| Type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive services |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder(s) | Royal Automobile Club |
| Headquarters | Norwich, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Angela Seymour-Jackson (Managing Director), Dave Axford (IT Director) |
| Services | Breakdown assistance |
| Parent | Aviva |
| Website | www.rac.co.uk |
RAC Limited is a private limited company based the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Divisions include R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd., RAC Financial Services Ltd. and RAC Insurance Limited; RAC Direct Insurance is a trading name of London and Edinburgh Insurance Company Ltd. which is also owned by the same parent company (Carlyle Group).
Founded as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile Club to Lex Service Plc in 1999, which subsequently renamed itself RAC Plc. In 2005, RAC Plc was bought by Aviva and delisted.
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The Royal Automobile Club was formed in 1897 which set up an "associate section" to assist members with roadside assistance and to provide motoring services. The club incorporated the associate section as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978.
In 1987, the organisation introduced an "Advanced Computer Aided Rescue System".[1]
In 1991, it established the RAC Foundation as its research arm. The RAC Foundation was later turned into a charity and received a legacy from Royal Automobile Club members when R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. was later sold.[1]
British School of Motoring (BSM) was purchased by R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1998.[2]
In September 1999, Lex Service Plc purchased R.A.C. Motoring Services from members of the Royal Automobile Club and renamed themselves as RAC Plc in 2002. In March 2005, Aviva Plc acquired RAC Plc for around £1.1 billion.[3] The main competitors to the RAC are The AA and Green Flag.
The company sold RAC Auto Windscreens in 2008.
Aviva Plc ceased providing loans under the RAC brand name in January 2008 and dissolved its partnership with the Co-operative Bank Plc.
The RAC's parent company, Aviva sold BSM to a German company in January 2009. BSM is the UK’s largest driving school with around 2,700 driving instructors; it is also one of the largest driving instructor training providers.[4] BSM has since been sold to Acromas Holdings which owns the AA.
Aviva Plc sold the RAC to Carlyle Group in June 2011.[5]
The RAC has around 2,000 patrols that attend 2.8 million breakdowns each year, this includes overseas breakdowns with RAC Europe. The RAC cover 7 million roadside assistance customers with 2.2 million individual members and 4.5 million corporate customers. Their breakdown assistance centres operate 24/7 and deal with approximately 4 millions calls a year. They have introduced, for trial, two hybrid vehicles, to cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions.[6] The RAC has won the JD power award for the last four years for the best roadside patrols in the UK.
RAC Europe is breakdown cover for U.K. customers that travel to Europe. RAC Europe covers 47 European countries and provides English-speaking Incident Managers available 24 hours a day to assist. The office is based near Lyon in Villeurbanne, France.
RAC Direct Insurance provides car, motorcycle, van, home and travel insurance.
RAC legal services provides advice and representation to customers involved in personal injury claims.
RAC Vehicle Checks and Examinations conduct vehicle checks that show if a car has been stolen, written-off, has outstanding finance or previous plates, is at risk of being sold illegally, and that its number plate and chassis number correspond. RAC Vehicle Checks are conducted by HPI.
HPI provides a check on a car's status - assessing whether a car has been stolen, written-off, clocked, has outstanding finance or previous plates, is at risk of being sold illegally, and that its number plate and chassis number correspond. It will also check whether the car's documents are genuine.
RAC Examinations Inspectors make physical checks on the car to make sure it is mechanically and structurally sound.
RAC provides travel and traffic services including online route planners, in-car navigation and help with travel documents.[7]
J.D.Power and Associates ranked the RAC the best in satisfying emergency roadside assistance customers in 2008, this is the fourth consecutive year the RAC has held this title. They also have a Greenfleet Breakdown/Recovery Company of the Year 2006 award for the most environmentally friendly roadside patrols.[8]
In 2006, RAC teamed up with WSR (West Surrey Racing) to form Team RAC and to race in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) with two MG ZS cars and from 2007 onwards, two (and sometimes three) BMW E90 320si cars. The racing cars were liveried in RAC's corporate orange and have achieved a number of wins, including winning the BTCC Independent Drivers Championship with Colin Turkington in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Turkington was also able to clinch the outright win in the 2009 BTCC Drivers Championship for Team RAC.
For 2010 RAC have reduced their level of sponsorship with the team.