Last-minute holidaymakers are pushing up the price for rental cars this summer, mostly in Spain and Portugal.
The price increase is primarily due to a shortfall in fleets, as companies have not been able to obtain credit to buy new cars this season, and due to a forecasted drop in demand.
The situation has forced some tourists to cancel their holiday plans rather than go ahead with plans without car hire.
“Every summer there is a seasonal shortage of rental cars,” Michael Taride, President of Hertz Europe, told Sky News.
“We are buying additional fleet and keeping and maintaining cars for a longer period of time to accommodate the increase in demand.”
Span has been worst affected by the crisis with some holidaymakers paying twice the amount to higher a car compared to the same period last year.
Italy, France and parts of the UK are also experiencing car hire difficulties.
£365 is the cheapest weekly car rental in the Spanish resort of Malaga, and a small van such as the Volkswagen Touran will be about£850 per week.
Back in May we announced that demand was down so we would reduce our fleets to give us more flexibility,” Avis spokeswoman Hilary White said.
Car hire companies predicted a slowdown in demand due to the recession and had chosen not to upgrade cars or fleets.
Thanks to Sky News for the above quotes. For more information on this article visit skynews.com
