Those who thought that traditional car rental brands were competitors to the emerging ride service sector need to think again.

In a deal announced at the ITB exhibition in Berlin last week, rental giant Hertz launched a transfer brand (Hertz Driver Services) to co-exist alongside its core vehicle hire product.

The offshoot will be powered by online professional driver brand Blacklane, initially launching simultaneously in a number of European countries including France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Blacklane will power the search and booking service on the Hertz website and also provide the transfer, limo and chauffeur vehicles from its existing pack of drivers.

Hertz says the partnership will allow it to provide more than rental services to travellers, not least those who “need an airport transport service for the first and last legs of their trip” or passengers who choose not to or do not drive.

Hertz group president Michel Taride argues that the deal allows it to offer “increasingly comprehensive transportation” options to travellers – a recognition of sorts that traditional car rental brands are facing competition from on-demand services such as Uber et al.