What is the state of the car rental market?

How is the car rental market doing today as new trends emerge in the mobility sector? What is the state of the car rental sector?

 

It’s no secret that technological developments and the Covid-19 health crisis have had a major impact on our travels habits and therefore on the car rental market. Car rental companies and fleet managers have had to adapt to these new issues and challenges. Where is the car rental market at today? What are its economic prospects? Why are car rental companies taking their business online with myrentcar car rental software? The answers are provided in this analysis of the car rental market.

What is the car rental market?

The car rental market can be divided into two main categories: short-term car rental (LCD) and long-term rental (LLD), also known as leasing. The car rental market ranges from city cars to vans and heavy goods vehicles and brings together many players. Large groups and small and medium-sized companies share a market in total evolution where supply and demand have greatly evolved in recent years.

What is the state of the car rental market?

The state of the car rental market currently rhymes with rebound and recovery. Indeed, the turnover of car rental companies is once again growing as usual after the various crises. This growth of the car rental market is supported by the increase in the number of tourists as well as business trips, in particular in the local rental segment. However, the rebound in the car rental market remains limited because, on the one hand, tourist activities continue to be strongly impacted and, on the other hand, business travel remains far from its pre-crisis level. The reason? Companies have reduced their travel budgets and have implemented alternative solutions such as telecommuting or videoconferencing.

 

Financially, the balance sheet of the vehicle leasing market is more complex. Some leasing companies have been burdened by the loan repayments associated with financing their fleets and by lease payments. However, the situation of car rental market players has improved in recent months. Many companies have raised funds and contributed or sold capital in order to restructure their business financially and revive the car rental sector. However, leasing companies will still have secured loans on their balance sheet, a stigma of the crisis.

What are the figures for the car rental market?

Car rental market figures are expected to jump 20% after an unprecedented 25% drop following the Covid-19 health crisis. This growth in the car rental market is supported by the recovery in tourism and travel, which also jumped by 20%. The short-term rental segment is therefore particularly dynamic and the various players in the car rental market are benefiting from their diversification strategy, notably the democratization of no-obligation rentals, but also from new trends.

 

In the European market, Germany played a key role in the vehicle rental sector in 2023, with major companies like Europcar, Avis Budget, Hertz and Enterprise holding a significant share of the market. The introduction of rental electric vans, notably by German startups, has marked a notable shift towards more sustainable mobility solutions. The European market as a whole has been dominated by major players such as Avis Budget Group, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. Key trends included the growing adoption of electric vehicles and the integration of innovative technologies such as self-service rental and electric mobility services.

What are the trends in the car rental market?

The outlook and trends for the car rental market are particularly encouraging in an industry that is completing its transition to new forms of mobility. Indeed, the health crisis has pushed car rental companies to diversify in order to be less dependent on the activity of train stations and airports and to mitigate the seasonal nature of the activity. This has resulted in the emergence of subscription offers and therefore a growth in medium and long term rental to be more flexible according to customer demand. The diversification of the car rental sector is thus a sustainable trend with a bright future ahead of it.

 

Also, the car rental market has been greatly digitalized for a few years in order to react to the emergence of car sharing. This car sharing segment is boosted by the issue of vehicle ownership in the age of telecommuting and awareness of the environmental impact of our consumption. Bookings are now mainly made online via internet or applications and the car rental market must therefore adapt. But how can you surround yourself with the right partners to succeed in your digital transformation to stay competitive within the car rental market?

Who are the best partners in the car rental market?

With the acceleration of the digitalization of the sector, it is important to surround yourself with the best partners in the car rental market. Thanks to its 30 years of experience, hitechsoftware has established itself as an expert in supporting rental professionals and has developed the myrentcar management software that optimizes car rental. Accessible online from a smartphone or a computer, the myrentcar web solution allows you to plan and manage all the specificities and stages of the rental process (planning, contract, invoicing, maintenance management, ticket management or even inventory on a tablet). It is an intuitive tool that adapts to the needs of large groups and SMEs in the car rental market.

 

In order to ensure a complete digitalization of your activity, myrentcar software is compatible with your website to manage your online reservations and your customer areas. In addition, myrentcar is compatible with the clickygo car-sharing application to help you keep up with the growing popularity of car sharing. This Android and iOS app allow you to rent out all your connected vehicles 24 hours a day without going through a counter or agency and in complete independence. The myrentcar and clickygo management systems have thus become the ideal partners in the car rental market for many car rental companies and fleet managers. If you too would like to try out myrentcar and clickygo to anticipate future trends in the car rental market, we recommend that you fill out the form below!