Market Trends of Germany Car Rental Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Germany Car Rental Market according to our research experts:
Increasing Demand for Online Car Rental Services
Online tourist vehicle bookings are increasing in the country and globally due to the rising usage of smartphones, and the growth in the number of users preferring online channel.
With the growing trend in technology, renting a vehicle through online booking has become the most preferred choice for customers over the past few years. Moreover, it provides additional facilities to monitor a rental vehicle's operation, performance, and maintenance in real-time. Such features are tremendous assets for drivers and fleet managers, enabling them to better and more efficiently identify risks and implement timely improvements to their rental services.
Most renters prefer renting cars online during peak seasons. As the car rental market experiences an increase in demand during peak holiday seasons, people tend to book cars in advance. Only a handful of cars are booked through rental stores, mostly during the off-season. Online booking services include booking cars via internet sites and mobile applications, among which booking-via-sites is the most common method opted for by renters.
Furthermore, the trend of online renting a car through apps has improved over the period. App developers have been designing mobile rental applications with more advanced booking features that offer more vehicle availability and comparable rental costs on a single platform. For instance:
- In July 2022, The massive German vehicle rental company SIXT launched its first Canadian office in Vancouver's Library Square and intends to expand to Toronto by the end of the year. The facility will have a fleet of BMW and Mercedes vehicles.
- In December 2021, A German firm offering automobile rental services raised $95 million for more reliable and better car rental platforms. Customers can reserve electric vehicles for rental businesses via smartphone apps.
Considering these development, demand is expected high growth rate during the forecast period.
Long Term Car Renting to Gain Momentum
Considering the fact of the cost associated with buying a new vehicle and its maintenance, this longer-term car renting market is expected to witness elevated demand during the forecast period.
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand fell drastically as most of the offices shifted their work to a work-from-home policy, and tourists were not allowed in the country to restrict the virus from spreading. However, with the gradual opening of the economy and businesses, the demand is returning to the market, and it is expected that the market may grow at a high rate during the forecast period.
After covid, the passenger car segment witnessed increased pricing which deeply affected the middle-income group levels. In addition, the longer-term car renting segment is also dominated, by corporate demand especially from the industries such as logistics, construction, and oil and gas, with considerable demand for transportation of equipment and employee mobility. The logistics industry has the biggest share in terms of demand, followed by FMCG and the e-commerce industry.
Car dealers who rent for a long time may conclude rental contracts at a relatively low price compared to car rental companies. The main target customers of car dealers are government agencies that are very price sensitive.
