Reports Suggest that Car Rental Costs are up by 30% this Summer

August 20, 2010 – The most popular summer holiday destinations have had to put their car hire prices up as fleet numbers fail to match demand.

The findings are based on reports that looked at the prices of bookings made in March to May of 2009 and this year for car rentals in August. Countries that were researched include Spain, USA, Ireland, UK, France, Croatia, Italy, Turkey, Portugal and Madeira and Greece.

Turkey has reported the biggest price hike at 76% and this pushes the price of a hire car up to £40.08 per day in August 2010. The USA and Croatia were also high on the list of price hikes as both put prices up by 48% and 46% respectively. Portugal car rental is popular for many holidaymakers to areas such as the Algarve and Madeira.

Talking about the increase in prices for hire cars is the Managing Director for Carrentals.co.uk: "Unfortunately, many companies around the world have not been able to afford to expand their fleet of cars neither have they been able to afford to replace old cars meaning there is more demand than there is supply pushing prices up dramatically. Croatia, Turkey and the USA have noted the biggest price increases and these are all notably countries outside of the Eurozone."

Spain has seen a large increase as well with prices pushed up by 40% and France also suffered at 37%. The UK only went up by 8% but still remains an expensive place to rent a car as it was costly in 2009 before the lack of supply.

Continuing about the prices Gareth says: "We want to make sure that our customers understand how important it is to book early. Customers have been known to save hundreds of pounds by making a booking in March for August instead of booking in May and not only can you save money but you can also choose the type of vehicle you want as well."

Greece car rental is the only area that has enjoyed a decrease in price as the country now offers cars for 7% less than last year. Madeira offers good rates for car hire prices at an average of around £27 per day.

Carrentals.co.uk compares car hire deals from up to 50 rental companies, including Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, easyCar, Holiday Autos and Sixt, in over 9,000 locations worldwide.

To compare the latest car hire deals visit www.carrentals.co.uk.

*All figures are based on average daily rental prices for bookings made between March and May for August 2009 and 2010, respectively. The bookings analysed account for a 30% sample of all bookings made via Carrentals.co.uk during these periods.

About Carrentals.co.uk
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK's leading online car hire companies by 2006.

In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 50 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 9,000 locations.

Websites searched include Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, easyCar, Ebookers, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Opodo, Sixt and Thrifty, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.

The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 5,000 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.

In 2008 Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk

Media Contact
Debbie Williams
Context
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