Europe Car Rental Market Outlook, 2028

In Europe the high vehicle costs and the increasing maintenance costs of the vehicles is the main factor boosting the growth of the car rental market during the forecast period. In addition to that tourism is rapidly increasing in European countries. Europeans spend, on average, USD 25,000 on new cars, yet costs differ greatly by nation because of several variables. The real cost of owning a car when purchasing one includes depreciation, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and regular gasoline expenditures, all of which are sometimes overlooked. In the most expensive EU nations, there is a direct association between high taxes and high overall costs. Norway has the highest cost of driving a petrol car, while Hungary has the lowest. European cars frequently come equipped with features that increase acceleration, speed, safety, entertainment, and passenger comfort to maximize their performance. But when there are more attachments, there are also more moving components and items that can need to be repaired or replaced. As a result, these vehicles need routine maintenance to keep them in working order and to avoid more significant and expensive repair costs. Hence, as cars in Europe are very expensive, most people cannot afford them and use rented cars for traveling. Hence, the high costs of vehicles and high maintenance costs of vehicles lead to the car rental market growth in Europe.

According to the research report, “Europe Car Rental Market Outlook, 2028” published by Bonafide Research, the market is anticipated to add market size of USD 17.12 Billion from 2023 to 2028. In Europe, car rentals are usually available at affordable costs and that generates a huge demand for car rentals across the region. Additionally, the easy booking to rent a car through online or walk-in booking services is further driving the growth of the car rental market in Europe. An Increasing preference for on-Demand transportation Services and the availability of fewer parking spaces is also accelerating the growth of the market during the upcoming timeframe. Furthermore, individuals with a huge disposable income usually prefer luxury cars resulting in high demand for luxury car rentals. The increasing crude oil costs result in the high prices of booking a rental car. This factor may hinder the growth of the Europe car rental market by 2028. Europe also faced the problem of selling the inventory during pandemic amidst rising demand after the pandemic. For instance, thousands of tourists visit the city of Malaga in Spain each year as their gateway to Spain's famed Costa del Sol. These tourists are used to spending no more than USD 600 on luxury car rental per week.

According to the report, the Europe market is segmented into six major countries including Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy and Russia. Among them, Germany acquired around 12% market share in 2022 as Germany is the largest manufacturer of cars in Europe. The car rentals available in Germany are usually at cheaper rates when compared to other regions in Europe. Hence, the low cost of car rentals in Germany is driving the market growth rate during the forecast period. The increased price of fuels and other expenses has forced people to move towards car sharing as it is more economical. In car sharing, the prices of fuels and other car related expenses are shared between the people travelling in the car. Car rental market in the UK is second largest in the European region and features one of the most advanced and highly developed car rental systems, with sizeable spending of consumers on off-airport car rentals in the recent years across Europe after Germany. The UK car rental industry is expected to perform better in the forthcoming years on account of rising population, resurging economic sentiments and a revival in international tourist arrivals in the country.

However, the car rental market in France exhibits the most superior and highly developed car rental system, burgeoned by a substantial portion of consumer spending on car rentals for leisure purposes in the country, over the years. A higher demand of the car rentals for vacation trips has been observed amongst French people as well as among the travellers visiting the country. On the other hand, the car rental industry in Italy has a highly developed car rental structure. A substantial portion of the revenues are generated by spending of consumers on short-term car rentals. Over the historic years, the contribution of short term car rental in the industry has been relatively higher as compared to long term car rentals. It has also been observed that over the past few years, the contribution of car rental for leisure trips has showcased huge demand in Italy. As for the Spain, the country has one of the most advanced car rental systems with a substantial portion of consumer spending on off-airport segment of the market. In off-airport location, the cars are rented in proximity to traveller’s residence. The car rental companies in Europe comprises of a small number of key international conglomerates, few national companies and other locally-based companies. Europcar, Avis, Sixt and Hertz have been the leading players. Europcar is amongst one of the major car rental corporations in the European region with higher market share.

According to the report, the market is segmented into various car types including luxury car, executive car, economy car, sport utility vehicle and multi utility vehicle. Among them, economy car leads the market with more than 33% share followed by luxury car segment. The luxury vehicles are also likely to grow over the forecast period owing to increased travel budgets of tourists in the country and such developments to have positively lucrative opportunities for rental service providers. The vehicle rental market in Europe is expected to exhibit a healthy growth rate owing to the increase in business and educational tourism, especially in the central and eastern European regions. The Eastern and Southern European countries are significantly spending on transport and business infrastructure development, which is attracting executives, investors, and professionals from across the world. This factor is driving the demand for car rental in the region. Based on the application segments, business car rental segment leads the market with highest market share in 2022 whereas leisure segment is expected to grow with higher CAGR for 2023-28.



Many market players are witnessing tie-ups with prominent airlines to provide vehicle rental services directly at the airport. In January 2020, Ryanair partnered with Rentalcars.com and integrated the car rental platform across the airline to provide an increased number of car rental bookings. In January 2020, WeShare announced its expansion plans in the 7 new cities across Europe. WeShare plans to provide a fleet of 8,400 electric vehicles across Prague, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris, Munich, and Budapest. WeShare is partnering with Skoda services in Prague and Budapest, while Volkswagen will provide e-Golf1 and other vehicles in Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. To realize the zero-emission goal, German start-ups are working on electric van rental space. For instance, UZE Mobility, an open-source e-mobility platform, is providing clients with free van rentals from their electric Street Scooter fleet. Because they've adopted various types of funding, they've been able to take this unique strategy. Digital screens serve as mobile billboards on the sides of the vans. USE wants to sell enough advertising to cover the cost of renting electric vans. Other driving factors of the vehicle rental market are comfort, quality of life, affordability, and low cost of traveling. Furthermore, Berlin-based Daimler subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility (MBVM) has launched Mercedes-Benz Van Rental, a flexible rental service aimed at LCV users. Part of the strategic advance scheme, the new service is another step towards MBVM becoming a provider of holistic system solutions.

Major sites for Car Rental in Europe: Sites for European car renting services companies providing car rental reservations, bookings and deals for luxury, economy or family rental cars in many countries include Amigoautos, Argus Car Hire, Athlon Car Lease, Autotour Cars, Avis Europe plc., Budget Stansted, Bulgaria Rental Car, Car Hire Direct, Car Hire Guide, Caravel S.A., Easy Car Rentals, Easycar, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Eurocars (Romania), Europcar , Hertz, Holiday Autos , Limos.Pl , Magic Tours , Nova Car, Rent a car in Bulgaria, Rental Car Group , Rental Center Crete , Thrifty Rental Car, Your Car Hire PLC.

Most Popular Airport for Rental Car Locations in Europe: Alicante Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Athens Airport, Barcelona Airport, Brussels Airport, Copenhagen Airport, Dublin Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Gatwick Airport, Geneva , Airport, Heathrow Airport, Heathrow Terminal 5, Istanbul New Airport, Lisbon Airport, Malaga Airport, Mallorca Airport, Manchester Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport, Paris CDG Airport, Rome Fiumicino Airport, Stansted Airport, Stockholm Airport, Vienna Airport, Zurich Airport

Most Popular City for Rental Car Locations in Europe: Faro, Lisbon, Mallorca, London, Zurich, Paris, Edinburgh, Istanbul, Milan, Barcelona, Geneva, Frankfurt am Main, Madrid, Reykjavik, Vienna, Rome, Munich, Antalya, Amsterdam, Nice, Florence, Dublin, Oslo, Zillertal, Kleinwalsertal, Österreichische Alpen

Most popular car rental agents in Europe: Hertz, Europcar, keddy by Europcar, Free2Move, Sixt, Enterprise, Avis, Thrifty, Budget, FLIZZR, Dollar, Global Rent-A-Car

Recent Developments:
• In September 2022, Autonom Service, a car rental company, invested Euro 15 million (USD 16.01 Million) for the expansion of electric and hybrid car rental services across Romania.
• In January 2022, In the United Kingdom, the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) formed a new relationship with Europcar to deliver a fleet of 100 electric vans. The LEVC VN5 is now available at Europcar Vans and Trucks rental locations in eleven cities.
• October 2022: Sixt SE signed an agreement with BYD Co. Ltd to buy 1,00,000 electric vehicles by 2028. These electric vehicles are used to offer rental services throughout Europe.
• February 2022: Hertz announced an investment to expand electric vehicle commitment with a new UFODRIVE partnership. As Hertz's commitment to leading the future of mobility, the company invested in UFODRIVE - the leading self-service electric vehicle rental company and eMobility service provider in Europe.
• In January 2022, SIXT partnered with a local taxi firm itTaxi, to provide on-demand taxi services in Rome through the SIXT app. The organization is advancing the internationalization of its mobility platform ONE by growing its network in Italy and refining it’s ride-hailing and transfer service offering SIXT ride.
• In April 2021, Free2Move, a Stellantis-owned rental platform, launched its short-term rental service in the UK using a wide network of agencies. Via the online platform or the Free2Move App, the customer can book a vehicle at any time with complete autonomy without waiting at a counter.
• In October 2021, Hertz signed a partnership with Carvana for a new direct-to-consumer sales channel for Hertz automobiles. Following its acquisition of KAR Global's physical auction division ADESA for $2.2 billion, Carvana, the digital remarketing portal for every individual, is being used by Hertz to operate thousands of vehicles.
• September 2021: the Stellantis brand Leasyslaunched a long-term commercial vehicle rental system, LeasysPro, designed for companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, and self-employed professionals, LeasysPro enables customers to rent a commercial van with all the services included.
• March 2021: Europcar Mobility Group launched a brand-new range of subscription offers for companies, allowing fully flexible vehicle rentals with 3 offers – "Flex", "Superflex", and "DuoFlex"- which are alternatives to fixed-term leasing or ownership, offering the convenience of a monthly subscription.
• Another market leader, SIXT SE, digitalized the car rental process in Europe in February 2019. In addition, the company has implemented connectivity technologies for fleet management and has already connected thousands of vehicles via the IoT cloud platform.

Major Companies present in the market:
Avis Budget Group Inc, Hertz Global Holdings Inc, Enterprise Holdings Inc, Sixt SE, Europcar Mobility Group, TT Car Transit, Uber Technologies, Inc, Budget Rent A Car System, Inc, Ola Cabs

Considered in this report
• Geography: Europe
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• Europe Car Rental market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Country-wise Car Rental market analysis
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

Countries covered in the report:
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• France
• Spain
• Italy
• Russia

By Car Type:
• Luxury car
• Executive car
• Economy car
• Sports utility vehicle (SUV) car
• Multi utility vehicle (MUV) car

By Application Type:
• Leisure/Tourism
• Business

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, and annual reports of companies, analyzing the government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers into regional aspects, tier aspects, age groups, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the Car Rental industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.