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Current Outlook for Car Rental Companies

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With the popularity of rideshare services, you have to ask how the rental car industry is holding up. Is it on the verge of extinction? Or is it still thriving despite recent consumer trends?

It turns out that car rental companies are doing surprisingly well, all things considered. Expense management company Certify recently surveyed 10 million customer receipts to find 28% of business travelers opted for conventional car rentals. By contrast, 65% of business travelers used rideshare services like Uber and Lyft. (Maven and Turo are two other great rideshare startups to check into, as well.)


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Though it might be tempting to focus on the sheer quantity of ride shares compared to car rental numbers, another important factor to consider when evaluating the two is customer satisfaction. Based on a 1000-point scale, J.D. Power found that the overall satisfaction with rental cars increased 22 index points in 2017 when compared to stats from 2016.

Michael Goldstein, contributor to Forbes, points to reduced car rental rates as a major factor that has contributed to the industry’s health despite competition from rideshare services. In 2017, the daily average fee for renting a car has decreased $11 from what it was in 2016.

However, anyone who enjoys driving will likely admit that, as convenient as ride shares are, they just don’t impart the same sense of autonomy and control as sitting behind the wheel yourself does. The driving experience factor definitely holds some weight as the dynamic of “rideshare vs. car rental” plays out in the days ahead.


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News Sources: Forbes, Allianz