Travel news
Holidaymakers are facing sky-high car hire fees abroad this summer because shortages are driving up prices.
The cost of renting a car in Europe has almost doubled in the past three years because when the pandemic hit, many car hire companies sold off some of their vehicles. But now that demand has increased companies are replenishing their fleet at a higher cost, which is being passed on to the customer.
Experts are now predicting prices will remain high throughout the summer and beyond.
An analysis of car rental prices in six European destinations shows it will cost an average of £675 to rent a car for a week at the beginning of August this year, up from £339 for the same week in 2019.
According to figures from icarhireinsurance.com, which provides policies to cover the excesses imposed by hire firms, renting a car such as a VW Golf or a Peugeot 308 in Faro, Portugal, will cost an average of £728 a week this year, compared with £428 in 2019.
The cost of hiring a car in Barcelona has more than doubled, from £258 to £609 a week, while the average rental price in Nice is up from £417 to £731, and in Milan from £364 to £617. The company took average prices from six of the biggest rental brands – Sixt, Hertz, Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Europcar – earlier this month.
The high prices stretch further than mainland Europe. In Ireland, hiring a Ford Focus costs £1,230 for a week beginning July 30, while a fancier BMW 3 Series comes in at £2,063 a week.
Both prices are from Europcar and are the best on offer this week through aggregator Carrentals.co.uk.
In Tenerife, the price for a week’s car hire in August 2022 has risen by 220% compared with August 2021.
The shortage also extends to the Balearics, Canary Islands and Greece.
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), the trade body for rental companies, said the sector had been “hit hardest” by the global shortage in new vehicles and had seen “significant price inflation” in the cars it had been able to purchase.
“The sector faces similar cost inflation to many other businesses and is also having to invest heavily in preparing for an increasingly electrified fleet,” said a spokesperson.
The car rental industry has also blamed the price rises on rising demand.