If the shortage of vehicles will subside a little, this will not be enough to bring down prices during seasonal peaks warns Carigami.
2023 should noticeably resemble 2022 in terms of car rental with a shortage of vehicles which will mechanically weigh on prices. For users, the only watchword to remember for this year will be “anticipation” in order to avoid an astronomical bill.
According to the Carigami comparator, the average price in 2022 has soared by 38% in France, i.e. 447 euros for a week of car rental. An amount that can reach 487 euros in Bordeaux (+80% in 2 years) or even in Figari in Corsica (+151%).
“The rise in prices has particularly penalized Corsica where supply difficulties have further limited the available offer. For the first year, Carigami observes that there is no Corsican city on the podium of the most popular destinations “explains the company.
The platform notes a slow improvement in the supply of new cars from rental companies “but we are going very far with a 30% defective stock” observes for BFM Business, Pierre Feisthauer, development manager at Carigami.
Fewer options
“We are still very far from the mark and we do not expect a return to normal before 2024. This year, we risk starting on the same topo with stocks in low and medium season and blockages in high season and in the islands” he continues.
The new consumption habits adopted last year should therefore increase this year. In 2022, rentals were taken out 39 days on average before departure compared to 29 days in 2021.
“Customers book earlier because of shortages and prices and this approach will continue, we will not go back. Now, we rent in the spring around April-May for the summer holidays when traditionally it was done rather around mid-June” explains Pierre Feisthauer.
At the same time, customers are making significant savings on options: in 2022, the share of rentals with additional insurance has fallen: 23% in 2022 compared to 27% in 2019.
Enough to cause significant changes among rental companies, “the whole chain is upset, especially in terms of advertising campaigns” he adds.
Skyrocketing prices everywhere
This situation is obviously not only Franco-French. Vehicle shortages and inflation are also driving up prices in most other markets.
-Italy: 448 euros per week (+139% compared to 2019)
-United States: 587 euros (+89%)
-Portugal: 315 euros (+129%)
-Spain: 292 euros (+124%)
-Canada: 655 euros (+98%)
-Greece: 338 euros (+59%)
-Croatia: 369 euros (+81%)
