If you thought the problem of depleted inventory and high pricing was constrained to the U.S. car rental market, think again. Europe isn’t much better. Be prepared for extreme sticker shock.
High Rental Car Pricing In Europe
A reader just wrote me to let me know that Avis wanted 250EUR/day to rent a car in Munich, leading him to cancel his stay at one hotel in favor of a hotel closer to the city center.
His story is hardly unique. Europe is feeling the squeeze too of a surge in demand coupled with a depleted inventory of cars, many of which were sold during the pandemic.
How are rental car prices in Europe? Let’s take a look at one-day rentals (today) in major cities:
Munich:
Frankfurt:
Brussels:
Amsterdam:
London:
Milan:
Copenhagen:
My own neighborhood Avis rental car agency in Southwest Germany doubled in price for a weeklong rental last month, but I was happy to pay 400EUR compared to what I was seeing elsewhere.
Then in Spain, I paid almost 700EUR for a six-day rental. It’s not like my family of four could have just taken the train around Las Palmas…
The problem is not just reserving a car, but making sure there is actually a car in stock. A reservation may not mean much when you arrive late in the day and have not prepaid for your car.
High demand plus a critical chip shortage will keep prices high. Europcar is even warning it will not get better.
CONCLUSION
For Americans, It used to be only be the gasoline prices that were so shocking when renting cars in Europe. Now you get hit with a double whammy of high rental prices plus gas prices which remain quite high by U.S. standards.
For all travelers, the car rental supply shortage does not appear to be going away. Maybe as the summer travel season winds down some pressure will be lifted, but prices are higher than I have ever seen them. Plan accordingly.
How much did you pay for a car rental in Europe this summer?
image: Budget
With the exception of Milan, these prices don’t look too unreasonable to me. 80 Euros or so for a last-minute reservation, and that’s before you apply any loyalty benefits/discount code (typically 15% off, so you end up paying around €70).
I imagine that sticker shock would be mostly confined to those who are used to US prices (many of whom end up paying extra in order to rent an automatic car) and those who mostly hire cars during off-season visits to the likes of Costa Del Sol and Algarve (when supply far exceeds demand and rates of €15 or less are not uncommon).
For anyone wanting to hire a car for 1 or 2 people, I would also suggest having a look at vans. During the high season, rates for small vans can easily be 30-40% less than what you would pay for the cheapest car.
Until you see what car you are getting. Europe car rental prices used to be actually quite reasonable, especially in Germany. In some cases it was a better deal than in the U.S. when considering the type of vehicle you were getting. €80 per day pre pandemic would often have landed you in Germany a decent automatic Audi or MB. Now you get a manual transmission compact car…if you’re lucky. Weekly rates for basic manual compacts here are closing in on €800-€1000 in Germany. It was half this pre-pandemic…and for a better vehicle.
By the way, the comment on the type of car is neither here nor there. The differences are tiny, and the upgrades don’t always suit. Case in point, when I go to ATH, I pay an extra €3-4 to rent a manual diesel Clio insread of the very cheapest option (normally the 107). I go to the Sixt desk and they usually say something along the lines of ‘you’ll be pleased to know we have upgraded you to an Octavia’, to which I express my disappointment as finding a parking space for it will be an issue in some parts of the city. They will already have allocated the smaller diesel, so I end up taking something that is petrol and/or automatic.
Oh, and don’t forget, expect 30% higher than the quoted rate when adding in taxes and surcharges.
They have to post rates inclusive of taxes etc (assumung one books through an EU website). The only real extra is additional insurance.
So you’re seeing sky prices or no availability in Germany right now due to the Deutsche Bahn strike. Search September 7th onwards for more “normal” pricing
“High demand plus a critical chip shortage” Not really. Rental car companies were already broken prior to Covid. Their business model needs to change. During Covid they sold most of their cars to get cash, burned the cash and now don’t have money to buy new cars. Yes, high end cars that are in shortage but regular cars are not that bad. Just yesterday heard an announcement of a local Nissan dealer on the radio. “We have 250 new cars in our lot.” I paid $75/day in Denver for a SUV on National. The problem was the car had 40k miles on it which would never happen before on National.
Went to Amsterdam last week to drive to Germany. They wanted 500_700 for a decent sized car (bigger than a 2door) BUT when I checked sixt one ways from Hoofddorp (our hotel was there Hyatt Place) returning to AMS is was way less. Ended up in a brand new XC40 with pano roof for 5 days and 300€!!
National. Free. Rental. Days.
Two weeks ago I picked a car up in MUC and dropped it 4 days later in CGN. I applied four free rental days, and after taxes and fees it came out to about EUR 30. I had a BWM 5 series to boot!
I just rented completed a 6 day a car in Munich from Sixt (Audi something) for 50 euro a day