Car rental scarcity in Europe forecasted for 2010

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Car Rental News - 21/01/2010

 

Shortages expected in Croatia, Greece, Cyprus and more

A car hire company predicts that rentals this year will be more expensive for late bookers.

Europe Car Hire, one of the UK’s top car rental firms, says that the region will experience extreme shortage of rental cars this year, which could lead to travellers who have no reservation to pay much higher costs or even being stranded with no transport.

Economy Car Hire informs that the economic downturn which led to earlier car hire crisis in 2009 has not yet eased. The company warns that this year’s car shortages could happen in destinations like Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

The firm told that rental prices had abruptly increased during 2009, with cars hired in August costs more than twice their normal rates if they had been reserved in January. For instance, a Ford Ka vehicle hired for a week last January in Spain charged £117 only, while the same car model booked later costs £240.

Rory Sexton, Managing Director of Economy Car Hire, informs that holidaymakers who reserve cars early will have better selection of vehicles and will pay much lower rates. Meanwhile, those who book late will definitely pay more and may discover that there is no car available for rent.

In addition, Economy Car Hire is advising travellers to pay ahead, as it is the only way of making sure that a car unit will be available when they reach the destination. Pre-payment also eliminates any problem in exchange rates, which is very common in pay-on-arrivals.

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