Rent-a-car companies grow by 30%

Car rental companies have registered some 20%-30% growth mainly due to interest towards their services on the part of foreigners, said Ivan Marinov, Chairman of the National Association of Rent-a-Car Companies in Bulgaria, quoted by BTA. Bulgarians are not accustomed to using these services very much and the main clients are those who have lived abroad for a long time or those that have a temporary problem with their own vehicle, Marinov commented. At the same time, the number of rent-a-car firms has dropped by some 40% in the last two years. This percentage means that at least 50-60 companies have gone bankrupt because of the crisis and the leasing companies have taken possession of their cars.

Among the failed firms are small companies and car dealerships that also used to rent cars. Four or five years ago, about 250-300 companies were operating in this branch in Bulgaria. Now, only 50-100 have remained.

The decrease in the number of companies operating on this market and in the fleet of rental vehicles are among the reasons for the branch to report growth. There is great demand and at the height of the summer tourist season, the occupancy rate exceeds 100%. Therefore, we have to temporarily re-rent cars from car importers, explained Marinov.

The main clients of rent-a-car firms are foreign tourists. Currently, there are no rich Russian tourists, but the service is used by Russian middle-class citizens. This applies to holiday-makers from Germany and the UK as well, who usually rent the cheapest cars possible. An interesting phenomenon is that better-quality vehicles are rented mainly by Bulgarians coming home from abroad, Marinov said. This summer, a Bulgarian company even drove a foreign guest to the seaside in a rented limousine. Rental prices vary, depending on the type of the vehicle, from €25 to €200 a day, specified the Chairman of the National Association of Rent-a-Car Companies.

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