History
The history of DIKS goes back to the late 1940s. Driving school owner Paul Cornelis Diks was often asked by his students where they could rent a car. Diks, an enterprising man according to his descendants, smelled trade and decided to put an advertisement in an Amsterdam newspaper.
It generated so many responses that Diks bought a car and started a car rental company on March 1 from his home in the Olympiabuurt. Customers simply called for the key to the rental car, a Chevrolet, which was parked in front of the house in Van Tuyll van Serooskerkenweg.
1949 - A gap in the market
Car rental, then still an unknown phenomenon in Amsterdam, turned out to be a gap in the market. And so expansion of the Diks fleet soon followed. From the Volkswagen vans, which were rented in the 1960s for NLG 22.50 per day, to the reliable Mercedes buses, which are still at Diks' doorsteps today.
1955 - Paul Diks: visionary
There are car rental companies and visionary car rental companies. Paul Diks was one of the second, large and important category. From the one rental car of the past to a full-fledged car rental company. In the photo we see Paul, accompanied by his wife and Autopon director A.F. Smit, receiving 84 Clippers and Kleinbuses from Volkswagen.
1960 - Classics
In 1960, Paul Diks' fleet consisted of six American classics from his favorite car brands in addition to the well-known Volkswagen and Mercedes models: Ford, Chevrolet and Opel.
1963 - DIKS from the air
Ask ten people what aerial advertising is, and nine will start writing or drawing with their fingers in the air. However, there is another form of aerial advertising than the smoke letters drawn by sport planes or the trawls with text. In 1963, for example, the Diks car rental company had the idea of parking 24 of its 75 VW buses on a pristine piece of land near Schiphol Airport in such a way that people saw a clear message from the air.
1964 - The Van Ostadestraat
DIKS moved in 1964 to a garage in the Van Ostadestraat, Amsterdam South. Diks has never left here since.
1965 - Student associations
Back to September 27, 1965: Student association Herkos rented 2 passenger buses for a trip to the Zandvoort Circuit.
Willem de Zwijgerlaan
In 1966, Paul Diks opened a new branch on Willem de Zwijgerlaan in Amsterdam-West. In the photo, Paul Diks proudly poses with his son Ronald in front of the door. What is also striking is the red with blue and white logo of Diks Car Rental.
Paul and his Ford Transits
Paul Diks poses in front of a new fleet of Ford Transits that are displayed in front of the Hotel Novotel on the Europaboulevard in Amsterdam, which was still under construction.
1972 - More blue on the street
When Ronald Diks took over his father's business in 1972, several Dikswagen drove through the country. It was Ronald who introduced Diks' well-known blue-yellow rental cars - a nod to the police. “There should be more blue on the street,” has been a well-known statement within the family business ever since.
Generaal Vetterstraat
In 1980 Diks opened its doors on the Generaal Vetterstraat in Amsterdam near the Riekerhaven. The reason? More space for business operations.
1980 - Amsterdam Marathon
As a sponsor of the Amsterdam Marathon, which was run on Thursday, April 26, 1980, Diks supplied more than 20 vehicles to accompany the runners. A day before the marathon, Ronald managed to get hold of a sticker machine and after a long day (and night) of stickering, all vehicles with clear DIKS lettering appeared at the start.
1988 - The disappeared Mercedes
More than hundreds of thousands of customers have now successfully rented a van from Diks. Unfortunately, things sometimes go wrong. For example, a Mercedes Hanomag 406 van was rented in 1988 and never returned. Until November of the same year, when Diks received a message from the police. What turned out? The bus had been converted into a fake money car and used in a bank robbery. Shortly after the robbery, the gang was caught when the fake money car was hit by a special detective team that had tracked down the robbers days before. The cash car was later rented out to a production company that was looking for a cash car for a film.
1989 - Painting delivered to Soestdijk Palace
In 1989 our 100th truck had a very special load: a painting destined for Paleis Soestdijk.
1993 - Koen Van Oosterwijklaan in Amstelveen
1993 was dominated by the successful takeover of Sloothaak Car Rental in Amstelveen. The Amsterdam family business gained an additional branch on the Koen van Oosterwijklaan.
50 years of DIKS
As a special 'half-century promotion', we entered into a unique and exclusive partnership with the Hoofddorp Ford dealer Van Kalmthout & Van Niel. Customers could earn a one-week test drive by handing in a test drive coupon that was only available at Diks.
2002 - On to the Hexaanweg
In 2002 we opened our doors for the first time at Hexaanweg 1 in Amsterdam-Westpoort. You can still find us here today. The site has room for our fleet, a garage, our own petrol pump and a car wash.
2013 - DIKS Car Rental Almere
After renting out cars in Amsterdam and Amstelveen for 65 years, Diks Car Rental has expanded with a branch in Almere. In June 2013, the rental activities on the Randstad in Almere started.
2013 - Change of throne in the Netherlands
We donned an orange jacket especially for our new King Willem Alexander in 2013, when he took over from Queen Beatrix. Because: “Even Trix is moving with Diks.”
2014 - DIKS celebrates its 65th anniversary
In 2014, the 65th anniversary of Diks was sealed with the now famous promotional film "Chicks love Diks." This video full of wrong word jokes with a clear wink was viewed almost 1 million times.
2015 - Everybody loves DIKS
Special 'Everybody love Diks' T-shirts were distributed en masse among the public from the Diks boat. On August 1, everyone loves Diks. The slogan is therefore no longer 'Chicks love Diks', but 'Everybody love Diks'.
2015 - DIKS Almere moved
In the two years that Diks Car Rental has been established in Almere, the company has already grown out of its shell. The new location of the well-known car rental company is now Markerkant 1504.
2016 - DeAutoverhuurders
In 2016, the nationally operating organization De verhuurders was founded. Collaboration between 5 family businesses turned out to be a key to success. By joining forces, the lessee has a wide choice from a fleet of more than 2000 cars.
2016 - Bugatti for nothing at Diks
NEW in the range: The Bugatti Veyron. Would you also like to feel the power of this supercar?
2017 - Amsterdam - 24hrs
In his book Amsterdam 24hrs, photographer Peter Sabelis sheds new light on the city of Amsterdam and the people who inhabit it. He gets very close to the people portrayed and goes in search of the story behind the story in poetic portraits.
2018 - The BIGGEST move in the Netherlands
You move with Diks! In 2018, Diks nephew helped Rik move. Of course this day full of boxes got an epic conclusion, entirely in Diks style!
2019 - DIKS 70 years
On March 1, 1949, driving instructor Paul Diks started renting out his own car to former students. Now, 70 years later, the blue-yellow buses are an indispensable part of the street scene and Diks Car Rental has grown into a successful family business in which the 3rd generation of Diks is already working. And we are proud of that!
2022 - Expert innovates fleet
In 2022, DIKS enlisted the help of Toon Lager, Chief Executive Sound & Safety Engineer and expert in the field of noise and safety. After extensive research and a long development phase, he introduced a new sound for all buses in the fleet on 1 April. The purpose of this sound is to create more safety and alertness among road users.
2022 - DIKS without staff is NOTHING!
This year Niels (and Ronald) Diks rose to great heights to show the whole of the Netherlands what team DIKS is worth.
Because helping everyone on their way every day deserves a compliment from the top shelf.
And it didn't stop there, for a whole weekend everything was pulled out of the closet to make it an unforgettable big (s) staff party.
2023 - Participating in traffic is no joke!
In 2023 it was announced that the number of road accidents with victims increased last year. The number of cycling accidents also increased. An alarming trend. After all, every road accident is one too many.
That is why DIKS, together with Veilig Verkeer Amsterdam, launched the campaign "Participating in traffic is no joke" in the run-up to April 1, 2023, aimed at creating awareness about the responsibilities of road users.
2024 - DIKS changes colors
On April 1, Chief Executive Sound & Safety Engineer Toon Lager unveiled the new brand colors from the DTV Studios in Amsterdam.
The impetus for this impactful change was a series of studies showing that dark-colored vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents.
2024 - Iets DIKS in Nieuwegein
After several locations in Amsterdam, Amstelveen and Almere, we opened the doors of our newest branch in Nieuwegein on May 1 🎉.
2024 - Takeover of Van Dusschoten & Van Ginkel Car Rental
Van Dusschoten & van Ginkel was originally, just like DIKS, a family business that was founded at the end of the 1940s. What started as a taxi company quickly grew into a full-fledged rental company of passenger cars, buses and trucks in Amersfoort and Zeist.
In 2016, DIKS and van Dusschoten & van Ginkel decided to join forces for the first time by both joining DeAutoverhuurders: a collective of 5 family businesses. Now, in 2024, it has been decided to continue together as DIKS car rental & car sharing.