Car Rental: Top Six Industry Trends

March 2023

This report examines the global car rental industry, providing analysis on market sizes, brand and company shares, growth trends over the review period and prospects over the forecast period. The report also considers the major trends shaping the global car rental industry, as well as providing insights on the future of the car rental industry.

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Key findings

Car rental market has recovered in nominal terms

The car rental market has recovered following its setback from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, nominal car rental sales reached USD80 billion, though in real terms, it was still below pre-pandemic levels. A rebounding tourism industry has been the key driver of the recovery, though high inflation and a strengthening US dollar has distorted sales figures.

The US is the largest car rental market

The US accounted for 45% of global car rental sales in 2022 and has continued to remain the prime market over the historic period. However, emerging and developing countries are gaining traction, with their share of global car rental sales rising by three percentage points over 2014-2022.

Car rental is highly consolidated

In 2022, 65% of global car rental sales were accounted for by just five companies: Enterprise Holdings Inc, Avid Budget Group Inc, Hertz Corp, Europcar Mobility Group and Sixt SE. Enterprise Holdings remains the largest company, with an estimated 27% of global car rental sales in 2022.

Several trends are influencing car rentals

A number of trends are influencing the car rental market, which include the transition to electric car rental vehicles, the increasing use of rental cars for leisure purposes and the incorporation of shared mobility into the car rental business model.

Western Europe’s growth

Western Europe is projected to account for 44% of car rental growth over 2022-2030 – the most of any region. This can be explained by recovery from the negative impact of the pandemic on travel, which countries in the region are still recovering from.

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Key findings
Scope
Global car rental recovers in nominal terms following its setback from the pandemic
US boasts 45% of the car rental market, but emerging and developing markets growing
“Big five” car rental companies accounted for 65% of industry sales globally in 2022
“Big five” car rental players have less presence outside Europe, North America and Australia
Fleet sizes remain below pre-pandemic levels as supply side bottlenecks curb production
Average spend per transaction surges amid low fleet size and rising inflation
Utilisation rates remain below historic levels despite recovery
Trend 1: Online bookings to account for more than three quarters of car rental sales by 2030
Sixt launches a smartphone app for fleet customers
Trend 2: Investment in EVs growing as shift to clean mobility becomes a strategic priority
UFODrive : offering 100% EV car rentals with a no-hassle booking service
Trend 3: Car rental companies look to mobility sharing for growth
Sixt adds e-moped sharing to its growing portfolio of short-term rentals services
Trend 4: Car rental increasingly being used for leisure purposes
Hertz sees a jump in revenues from leisure travellers
Trend 5: Consolidated car rental facilities at airports are becoming more commonplace
Los Angeles airport’s CONRAC expected to be the largest car rental facility in the world
Trend 6: Data intelligence to promote connected vehicle platforms
Enterprise Holdings partners with Microsoft to bring connected car technologies
Enterprise Rent A Car: the leading brand in the world for car rentals
Hertz: sales in 2022 were still below pre-pandemic levels
Avis: Avis brand generated two thirds of Avis Budget Group Inc’s sales in 2022
Sixt: the fastest growing brand among the big five car rental players over 2014-2022
Europcar: the only major car rental brand with no direct presence in the US market
US: the world’s largest car rental market
China: major car rental players build presence in China through strategic partnerships
UK: one of the slowest growing car rental markets in Western Europe
Japan: one of the slowest growing markets in Asia Pacific over the forecast period
Brazil: offline car rentals dominate the market, despite high internet use
South Korea: leisure car rentals showing strong growth prospects in South Korea
France: car rental fleet still well below pre-pandemic levels
Spain: projected to be the third largest car rental market by 2030
Australia: Sixt sees a 5-fold rise in fleet size through a strategic partnership with a local player
Global car rental to become a USD100 billion market by 2027, despite economic worries
Spain forecast to be the third largest market by 2025 as the UK to drop to seventh by 2029
Western Europe to account for 44% of growth in car sales rental over 2022-2030
Opportunities for car rental companies
Challenges and threats for car rental companies
Car rental of the future

Mobility

All vehicles captured by Euromonitor's vehicle volume sales data, i.e. light vehicles -passenger cars and light commercial vehicles combined. Medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses are not covered.

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