Good Luck Finding a Cheap Rental Car This Summer
Supply and demand are out of whack and that means higher prices for holidaymakers.
Pricing power.
Photo: BloombergThinking of booking a European holiday this summer? If virus testing, vaccination rules and border restrictions seem difficult, wait until you try to find a rental car.
As countries reopen following the pandemic, disrupted supply chains have created shortages of a host of products and services, fanning fears about consumer price inflation. Rental cars are a case in point. They’re now in such short supply that if everyone opts for a foreign beach vacation this year, they’ll end up paying a fat premium for a vehicle — if they can find one at all. The market leader on this side of the Atlantic, Europcar Mobility Group, says leisure pricing could be “quite healthy” this year. Translation: Prices are going up.