Why do car rental prices change so much? There are several factors that determine the price on any given day. Prices can fluctuate because of the country and city you are renting the car in, the season, a particular holiday, the car category, the rental company, timing, and insurance just to name a few.
“The total price of renting a car depends on a number of variables that in most cases increase the amount you will have to pay.”
GBSN Research collected data to perceive how car rental prices fluctuate in August 2021 across the world’s most popular airport locations, and understand what are the most chosen vehicles and specifications.
We conducted an online research, collected the relevant data, and prepared it for further analysis, finding interesting insights into the car rental sector.
Daily rates around the world (August 2021 – Airport Locations)
The cost of renting a home varies substantially depending on the country and city. The cost of renting a car differs significantly between countries and places within those countries.
Countries with a better-established car rental infrastructure, high demand and supply, and safer driving conditions are typically the most affordable. When these extras are factored in, car rentals in the United States, for example, are often less expensive than in many underdeveloped countries.
There is also a surcharge for renting a car at the airport. In many cases, daily rates, additional fees, insurance premiums, local taxes and car availability at airport locations will be affected.
Most expensive cities
Vancouver in Canada, Geneva in Switzerland, and Zurich also in Switzerland are the three most expensive cities to rent a car in the month of August. During our research period, Vancouver had an average rental price of $1,102 per day, including taxes and fees such as location surcharge and sales tax. Geneva and Zurich follow in second and third, costing $619 and $610 a day.
1. Vancouver($1,102)
2. Geneva($619)
3. Zurich($610)
4. Dublin($511)
5. Athens($474)
6. Vienna($471)
7. Anchorage($450)
8. Casablanca($413)
9. Minneapolis($374)
10. Seattle($370)
Least expensive cities
The cheapest cities to rent a car during August are all located either in Asia or South America. Thailand’s largest island Phuket is the cheapest city, at $39 per day. Two of the most important cities in Brazil follow in second and third. In São Paulo, the average price is $40 per day, and in Rio de Janeiro $42.
1. Phuket($39)
2. São Paulo($40)
3. Rio de Janeiro($42)
4. Mumbai($45)
5. Bangkok($45)
6. Delhi($46)
7. Lima($54)
8. Montevideo($68)
9. Bogota($70)
10. Buenos Aires($73)
Most popular segment by region
The car itself is often the biggest factor affecting rental prices. In most cases, cars in the same class are priced remarkably similarly: economy cars can cost a dollar more per day than compact cars, and compact cars cost a dollar more than cheaper cheap cars. As you move up to bigger classes, prices tend to go up as well, especially if you want a specific type of car or features.
Most rented models around the word
The Toyota Corolla is the most rented car in the world and can be found in almost any city. The model secured first place in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and North America. Volkswagen Golf is the most rented car in Europe, while Nissan Versa is preferred by renters in South America, and Dacia Duster in Africa.
Automatic vs. Manual Transmission
In Europe, cars equipped with automatic transmissions attract high premiums because they are more expensive and less common. In North America, it’s the other way around. Almost all available cars are automatic, considering the convenience for renters who wish to travel long distances within countries.
What are the most recommended rental companies?
In general, rental companies want to rent out as many cars as they can. If they’re renting out fewer cars than they expected, they will reduce prices to attract more customers. Conversely, when demand is low, they may raise prices to capitalize on it.
But not all car rental companies are the same. The way they charge car rental rates may seem similar but be careful to compare total prices when checking different providers.
Some will bundle a large number of rates into the daily rate, other providers will split more rates into additional fees and charges, and the insurance calculations are also quite different.
Customers tend to prefer transparency and simplicity, so companies that tend to show more prices up front and clearly state what the client will generally have the best reviews.
About this research
Three steps were taken to move from raw data to data that allowed us to achieve our goals:
- Collect the data from online aggregators from different parts of the world;
- Prepare and transform the data: cleansed the data for maximum accuracy and relevancy, and transform the original data many times to gain valuable insights;
- Analyze the resulting data: discovered useful information and insightful correlations.
Below is an example of how data is collected by our team. Click here to download the sample.
About our company
GBSN Research team has key expertise in online research, data collection, and data processing. We gather consumer opinion, product information and market data, with the purpose of delivering up-to-date insights to global professionals, from automotive to healthcare.
We source, process, and enrich data records from a variety of public sources such as e-commerce marketplaces, online stores, business platforms, news, forums, or social media, delivering multilingual data for global brands.
Want to obtain the full dataset with ongoing updates? Contact us now and one of our specialists will get back to you in the next few hours.
