20 Crash-Tested Car Rental Industry Statistics [2023]: What Is The Car Rental Industry

Research Summary. The car rental industry was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and is still recovering from those impacts, as seen in these statistics.

• The U.S. car rental market is projected to reach $29.2 billion in revenue by the end of 2023.

• The global rental car market earns $40.65 billion in revenue each year.

• The global car rental industry is expected to see a CAGR of 6.7% from 2020 to 2027.

• The global car rental market size is expected to be worth $144.21 billion in 2027.

• The car rental industry is expected to accommodate 602.2 million users by 2026.

• The average revenue per user (ARPU) in the car rental industry is $194.90.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Companies | Prices | Consumers

U.S. Car Rental Industry Trends and Projections

• The revenue earned by the U.S. car rental industry dropped by 27.4% from 2019 to 2020.

  2019 saw the car rental industry earn a record-setting $32 billion in revenue, only for this to drop to $23.22 billion in 2020. This 2020 revenue was the lowest the industry had seen since 2011.

• The U.S. car rental industry’s annual revenue increased by 21% from 2020 to 2021.

  As the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns eased, the rental car industry’s revenue increased from $23.22 billion in 2020 to $28.1 billion in 2021. While the industry didn’t fully recover from its 27.4% drop in 2020 from its 2019 revenue levels of $32 billion, 2021 set it well on its way to recovery.

• Revenue earned by the U.S. car rental industry is expected to experience a CAGR of 5.27% from 2022 to 2026.

  This will result in the industry earning $31.43 billion in annual revenue by 2026.

• The global car rental industry is expected to reach a value of $144.21 billion by 2027.

  This would result in a CAGR of 6.7% from 2020 to 2027, as the industry’s value in 2020 was $58.34 billion. Much of this growth is expected to be fueled by the industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Car Rental Industry Statistics by Car Rental Companies

• Enterprise Holdings is the biggest car rental company in the U.S., with 6,000 locations.

  This company has 1.1 million cars in service in the U.S., spread across its 6,000 locations. In 2020, a notoriously bad year for rental car companies due to shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Enterprise Holdings earned $14.72 million in revenue.

  Enterprise Holdings owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent-A-Car, and National Car Rental brands. Hertz, Avis Budget Group, and Sixt follow Enterprise Holdings in size.

• There are 1.8 million rental cars in service in the U.S. as of 2021.

  Although this is a lower number than usual, these cars created a record amount of revenue per unit, averaging $1,320 in revenue per car per month. In 2019, this number was $1,174, an 11% decrease from 2021’s numbers.

• The majority of rental car companies in the U.S. are a part of three conglomerates: Enterprise Holdings, the Hertz Group, and the Avis-Budget Group.

  When put together, these groups hold a market share of nearly 94%.

Car Rental Industry Statistics by Car Rental Prices

• From 2019 to 2021, the average daily rental car price went up by $35.

  As of December 2021, the average daily rental car price is $81, up from the December 2019 average daily price of $46.

• The average car and truck rental price has gone from $123.18 in December 2017 to $193.75 in December 2021.

  Here is the breakdown of the average cost each year from 2017 to 2022:

  Year	Cost
  2022	$184.22
  2021	$193.75
  2020	$142.45
  2019	$135.33
  2018	$130.69
  2017	$123.18

  This doesn’t include the July 2021 peak of $236.80 – the highest average price of this five-year span.

• Car rental companies added 58% fewer cars to their fleets in 2021 than they did in 2019.

  This creates a shortage of cars by itself, raising rental prices, but what’s worse is that rental car companies sold off most of their cars during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and these lower purchase rates aren’t doing much to help them recover their fleets, exacerbating price increases even more.

Car Rental Industry Statistics by Car Rental Consumers

• There were about 44.5 million cars rented in the U.S. in 2019.

  In 2020, however, there were only about 17.3 million cars rented. Almost twice as many were rented in 2021 (29.2 million) as in 2020, and it’s estimated that the industry will see 46.8 million rentals in 2024.

• Car rental customer satisfaction dropped 11 points on a 1,000-point scale from August 2020 to August 2021.

  Experts agree that this is mainly due to higher rental prices and understaffed pick-up and drop-off locations that result in long lines. The overall customer satisfaction is ranked at 830, and it was at 841 in August 2020.

• Enterprise has the highest customer satisfaction rate of 861.

  National and Alamo are close behind, with scores of 852 and 837, respectively.

• The average length of a car rental from Enterprise is 18.4 days as of 2022.

  This includes cars rented to auto repair companies that provide customers with a loaner while their cars are fixed, so this doesn’t just include people traveling for leisure or business.

Car Rental Industry Statistics FAQ

1. What is the car rental industry?

   The car rental industry is a for-profit industry that centers around short-term vehicle rentals or longer-duration vehicle leasing services. The nature of the industry makes it a global powerhouse, as many travelers in many different countries rely on car rentals to get around.

2. How much is the car rental industry worth?

   The global car rental industry is worth $58.34 billion as of 2020. From 2020 to 2027, the industry is expected to see a CAGR of 6.7%, causing it to reach $144.21 billion in value by 2027.

   The global rental car industry’s annual revenue is $40.65 billion, and the U.S.’s car rental industry earned $28.1 billion in 2021. This was an increase of 21% and almost $5 billion after the industry earned just $23.22 billion in revenue in 2020, down from the $32 billion it earned in 2019.

   2020’s revenue, dropped by the COVID-19 pandemic, was the lowest the car rental industry had seen since 2011.

3. Is the car rental industry profitable?

   Yes, the car rental industry is profitable. While there is a high overhead and startup cost in running a car rental company, the high demand for rental cars usually results in a profitable business venture.

   However, the trick is to keep demand up, as they witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic when their customer base dried up overnight; things went downhill fast when customers stopped coming.

4. How concentrated is the car rental industry?

   The car rental industry is moderately concentrated. It is much more concentrated in the U.S., where three companies dominate almost 94% of the market, than in Europe, which has those same three companies plus two more.

   The three dominant U.S. rental car companies are Enterprise Holdings, which owns the Enterprise, National, and Alamo brands; the Hertz Group, which owns the Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar, and Firefly brands; and the Avis-Budget Group, which owns the Avis and Budget brands.

   Europe also has Europcar, which owns the Goldcar and InterRent brands, and Sixt.

5. Who is the biggest car rental company?

   The biggest car rental company is Enterprise Holdings. This company actually owns several car rental brands, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent-A-Car, and National Car Rental, and it has 1.1 million rental cars in service.

   Enterprise Holdings has 6,000 locations across the U.S., and it earned $14.72 million in revenue in 2020.

   The next-largest rental car companies include the Hertz Group, the Avis-Budget Group, and Sixt.

6. Is the car rental industry growing?

   Yes, the car rental industry is growing. As it recovers from the shutdowns and severe lack of customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. rental car industry is expecting its annual revenue to see a CAGR of 5.27% from 2022 to 2026. This would put its annual revenue at $31.43 billion in 2026.

   Globally, the car rental industry is expected to see a CAGR of 6.7% from 2020 to 2027, putting the industry’s value at $144.21 billion by 2027.

   Granted, much of this growth is due to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns that resulted in companies having to sell off their fleets, but it is still significant growth that had happened much more quickly than businesspeople thought when the pandemic began.

Conclusion

The car rental industry has been a hot news topic since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down travel, driving car rental companies to sell off significant portions of their fleets to cut costs and dig themselves out of bankruptcy.

The U.S.’s car rental industry’s revenue dropped by 27.4% from 2019 to 2020, and although it’s seen a 21% increase into 2021, prices are still high – up by an average of $35 a day from 2019 – as companies struggle to rehire staff and restock their fleets.

Things aren’t all bleak, though, and the U.S.’s rental car industry is expecting to see its revenue go up by a CAGR of 5.27% from 2022 to 2026. The global car rental industry is growing as well: Its value is expected to increase by a CAGR of 6.7% from 2020 to 2027, reaching a value of $144.21 billion at the end of that time period.

References

1. Auto Rental News. “2021 U.S. Car Rental Revenue Climbs 21% Year-Over-Year.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

2. Statista. “Revenue in the Car Rentals Market Worldwide From 2017 to 2025.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

3. Auto Rental News. “U.S. Car Rental Revenue Dives 27.4% in 2020.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

4. Statista. “Car Rentals: United States.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

5. Fortune Business Insights. “Car Rental Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Vehicle Type (Luxury Cars, Executive Cars, Economy Cars, SUVs, and MUVs), By Application Type (Local Usage, Airport Transport, Outstation, and Others), By Rental Duration Type (Short-Term, Long-Term), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

6. Zippia. “10 Largest Car Rental Companies in the United States.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

7. Statista. “U.S. Market Share of Car Rental Companies in 2017.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

8. Y Charts. “U.S. Consumer Price Index: Car and Truck Rental.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

9. Car and Driver. “Car Rental Average Daily Price Up $35 Just Since December 2019.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

10. News and Record. “How COVID-19 Affected Car Rentals Over the Past Year.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

11. Business Wire. “Rental Car Customer Satisfaction Drops as Vehicle Shortage Causes Prices to Surge, J.D. Power Finds.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

12. Enterprise. “U.S. Average Length of Rental by Region Q1 – 2020.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

13. Global Fleet. “How COVID-19 Impacts Rental Car Industry.” Accessed on April 6, 2022.

14. Y Charts. “U.S. Consumer Price Index: Car and Truck Rental.” Accessed on March 10, 2023.

15. Enterprise. “U.S. Length of Rental By State Q4 2022.” Accessed on March 10, 2023.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.