Report Overview

Global Car Rental Market Size - Industry Trends & Outlook Report 2026

Global Car Rental Market is expected to be USD 189.30 billion by 2026 from USD 92.92 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 10.7 % from 2020 to 2026. An increasing number of car rental services, changing lifestyle, and increasing spending power of the people, majorly drive the Global Car Rental Market. Increasing tourism activities and continuously expanding tourism budget of travellers have supported the growth of the car rental market. Besides, the rising dependence of users on smartphones for carrying out a variety of activities traditionally done by personal computers has significantly helped transform the car rental experience for customers. Growing sales of smartphones is another major factor propelling the market. Many governments have been focusing on developing tourism infrastructure to attract more tourists, fueling the market growth. But, high car rentals for extended counters may restrict the growth opportunities.

Global Car Rental Market: Market Outlook and Trends

Car rental agencies rent automobiles for a short period at a specific cost. The service is usually provided by car rental operators through many local branches, which are generally situated near airports or busy areas in the city and are accompanied by a website to allow online reservations. The rental period may vary from a few hours to weeks as per the requirement of the customer. During the last few years, the trend of leisure travel, smartphone usage and increasing car rental services has changed the scenario. The convenient accessibility combined with online bookings has increased car rental adoption, thus driving the growth of the market.

Growth Drivers

Increasing Demand for Online Car Rental Services

Online tourist vehicle bookings are increasing over the world owing to the growing usage of smartphones and the number of travellers aged between 25 and 34 who prefer to book vehicle rentals by online channels. Besides, online booking also facilitates verifications of the renter's documents, offering detail to the renter regarding the car, services like drop and pickup of the rented vehicle at a particular place, e-signing contracts, and cashless transactions.

With the rising trend in technology, renting a vehicle through online booking has become the most favored choice of customers over the past few years. Moreover, it provides additional facilities to monitor a rental vehicle's operation, performance, and maintenance. Such features are very useful for drivers and fleet managers, allowing them to better and more competently recognize risks and undertake timely improvements in their rental services.

Impact of COVID-19 in industry

The automotive & transportation industry is among the most open verticals to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and is currently amidst exceptional uncertainty. COVID-19 is expected to significantly impact the supply chain and product demand in the automotive sector.

Car Rentals are essential to the travel industry and have played a vital role in commercial progress across the globe. The companies are progressively asking their employees to work from home while other people prefer to stay at home due to coronavirus spread. So, the daily travels, shuttle and non-essential travel have come down drastically. It, in turn, has caused a dip in the self-drive car rental business across the world, with 10-15 per cent drop in the inter-city request in March alone.

Global Car Rental Market: Segmentation

Based on the booking type, the car rental market is bifurcated into Online access and Offline access. Online access holds the top share in the global market.

The car rental market is divided into Economy/budget cars and Luxury/premium cars based on vehicle type. Economy/budget cars secure a major share in the Global Car Rental Market due to the high fuel efficiency of these cars, leading to their more adoption. Moreover, increasing gasoline prices and growing environmental concerns have driven the demand for these cars globally for minimal environmental impact.

Based on the application, the car rental market is divided into Leisure/tourism and Business. Leisure/tourism segment dominates the Global Car Rental Market and is expected to grow substantially due to the growing global trend of leisure tourism.

Geographically, the car rental market has been divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. 

Global Car Rental Market: Regional Insights

North America captured the substantial share in Global Car Rental Market and is expected to register substantial CAGR due to the growing adoption of rental vehicles and increased investment in rental vehicle sector in countries such as the US and Mexico, over the projection period. In 2018, the usage of these services increased in several cities of the US, fueled by increased initiatives of the service operators. For instance, Uber Technologies Inc. adopted mobile technologies and other devices to meet consumers' transportation requirements more efficiently. Among countries, the US continues to remain the most significant country for the car rental services market, whereas LAMEA is anticipated to exhibit remarkable growth rate during the forecast period. 

Competitive landscape

The leading players in Global Car Rental Market are Avis Budget Group Inc., Eco Rent a Car, Enterprise Holdings Inc., Europcar Group, Car2go, Hertz Corp., Sixt, Movida, Ace Rent-a-car, Global Cars, Localiza–Rent-a-car SA, Advantage Rent-a-car, National Car Rental, Locamerica, and others.

Recent Developments

Ø  In August 2017, Migo, a Seattle-based search engine for on-demand ride services launched a mobile application that allows users to compare locations and prices of the nearby taxi, car-sharing, and ride-hailing companies all in one app.

Ø  In December 2018, The Hertz Corporation, in partnership with CLEAR, launched an online platform called the Hertz Fast Lane. This platform uses biometrics to carry out and speed up the entire vehicle rental process for the convenience of customers.

Scope of the Report

The objective of the Study:

Ø  To analyze and estimate the Global Car Rental Market size, in terms of value.

Ø  To examine the market segmentation carefully and estimate the market size, in terms of value, based on the region by segmenting the Global Car Rental Market into five regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World and their leading countries.

Ø  To outline, categorize and project the Global Car Rental Market based on Booking Type, Application Type, Fare Price, End User, Rental Length, and Region.

Ø  To examine competitive developments in applications and bookings, End-user, fare prices and rental length within the Global Car Rental Market.

Ø  To highlight market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges and their impact.

Ø  To provide a detailed competitive landscape, including major players, their strategic profiles, and market shares.

Business Questions Answered by the Report

Ø  How will the market drivers, restraints, and opportunities affect the market dynamics?

Ø  What will be the market size in terms of value and volume and market statistics with a detailed classification?

Ø  Which segment dominates the market or region, and which one will be the fastest-growing, and why?

Ø  Who are the key players in the market, and what is their share?

Ø  What is the strategy adopted by key players, and how does it affect the existing and new players?

Customization Scope for the Client

Client satisfaction is our first and last priority, and that is why BlueWeave Consulting offers customization as per client’s specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

Ø  Additional Company Information

Ø  Detail Analysis of five additional companies

Ø  Additional country analysis

Ø  Detailed segment analysis