Car rental

The Sixt car rental agency at Munich airport, Germany.

Car rental is when you rent a car. The company providing you the car becomes the car rental service provider, whereas you become the car hirer, as you hire the car for a fee.

A car rental agency or a rent-a-car (car hire in British English) is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time (ranging from a few hours to a few weeks) for a fee.

Location

They can be found primarily located near airports or busy city areas. The internet is changing the car rental industry with companies that are now called online car rental companies. Travelers can pre-book their rental car online anywhere across the globe directly from the service providers like Hertz, Budget, Alamo, Sixt Rent a Car, Thrifty, Travelauto.com, Dollar, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Europcar.

Purpose

Car rental agencies are mainly for people who need a car for a short period of time, for example travellers who are out of town, people whose cars were damaged or destroyed. Car rental agencies may also rent trucks for self-moving industry

Conditions

Car rentals are subject to many conditions which vary from one brand to another. The vehicle must be returned in a good condition and must not exceed a maximum driven distance, otherwise extra fees may be incurred. Additionally, some companies set up a minimum age for the vehicle driver, which in some cases is as high as 25, even in countries where the minimum legal age to hold a driver's license is much lower. Recent conditions have used GPS technology to limit maximum speeds or driving to specific regions.

Global market

North America and Europe are leading the car rental market, followed by Asia-Pacific. North America is dominating the car rental market, owing to the high usage rate of car rental services by daily commuters, office-goers, and tourists in the country. Also, the growing trend of car sharing also boosts the usage of car rental in this region.