Europe Vehicle Rental Industry Overview
The European car rental market is fragmented and highly competitive due to various international and regional players operating in the ecosystem. Some of the major players include Avis Budget Group Inc., Europcar Mobility Group, Hertz Global Holdings, Auto Europe, SIXT SE, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent-a-Car, National Car Rental, and ACE Rent-a-Car. Most of the largest US-based rental agencies have a presence in the market throughout Europe. These companies are registering the highest demand in the region due to their presence throughout Europe and their fleet of readily available vehicles in nearly all areas. Further, these players also engage in constant upgrades to their car fleets and services to enhance customer convenience. For instance,
• In September 2023, Europcar Mobility Group UK announced the rollout of a new web-based customer assistance tool, which helps customers avail incident support and breakdown assistance. Further, the company stated that this new tool could also be used to report damage that was unrecorded before the start of the rental.
• In January 2023, Hertz announced its collaboration with Uber, wherein the ride-hailing company would rent 25,000 electric vehicles to its drivers in European capitals by 2025. The rollout of the rental deal will include models from Tesla and Polestar that were made available to Uber drivers in the London region, while the company is planning to add 10,000 more EVs by 2025.
• In September 2022, Autonom Service, a car rental firm set up and owned by Romanian entrepreneurs, obtained EUR 15 million (USD 16.41 million) financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand its fleet of electric and hybrid cars in Romania. This initiative will allow the company to purchase 895 electric and hybrid vehicles for operations across Romania.
• In February 2022, Hertz announced its investment in UFODRIVE, a self-service electric vehicle rental company and mobility service provider in Europe, as part of its commitment to lead the future of mobility. The partnership builds on Hertz's announcement in October 2021 that it would be investing to expand its global electric vehicle fleet network,
The market is anticipated to witness the integration of electric cars in rental fleets to complement government efforts to promote the reduction of carbon emissions and gain a competitive edge in the industry.
Europe Vehicle Rental Market Leaders
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Avis Budget Group Inc.
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Europcar Mobility Group
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Hertz Global Holdings
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Auto Europe
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SIXT SE
- *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order