The $100 billion Western rental car industry, flush with cash from a profitable pandemic. It is gradually getting its electric show on the road. The Chinese-made vehicles are poised to play a starring role. The electric transition could see car fleets, which is long dominated by famed marques from the United States and Europe.
Olivier Baldassari, group chief countries and operations officer at rental giant Europcar stated that historically, European and American manufacturers had an edge. But the shift towards electric is reshuffling the cards. He said that electric cars from Chinese and Asian makers were comparable to Western models in terms of quality. Even small savings are significant in the vast rental industry. And, that buys millions of new cars a year, which is a tenth of all new cars in the United States alone.
Companies in the sector have long resisted a rush to electrify. This is because of weak demand for electric vehicles (EVs) among customers, who were worried about being stranded out of power. This is the best time to start as companies have fortified their coffers with bumper profits. According to the American Car Rental Association In the United States, rental car companies received record monthly revenue of $1,320 per vehicle in 2021. Nick Mountfield, associate partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants, stated that in the past, companies have kind of stuck their head in the sand. Also, they stated that they are now starting to see people say that they’ll have to do something about and put in place plans.
