Holidaymakers face soaring car hire costs as shortages drive up prices
The cost of renting a car in European holiday destinations has almost doubled in the past three years, and experts predict prices will remain high as global shortages mean car hire firms are paying more for new vehicles.
An analysis of car rental prices in six European destinations shows it cost an average of £675 to rent a car for a week at the beginning of August, 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 are not limited to mainland Europe, however. In Ireland, hiring a Ford Focus costs £1,230 for a week beginning 30 July, 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.
The price rises are mainly caused by car rental companies having sold off much of their stock of vehicles during the pandemic as demand collapsed. Now, with people taking holidays again, they are trying to rebuild their fleets, but a global shortage of semi-conductors means they are paying more for new vehicles. Those increases are being passed on to consumers in escalating prices.
The shortage also extends to the Balearics, Canary Islands and Greece, says Mo
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