Car Renters Will See Fewer New Models in 2009
Car Dealers aren’t the only ones suffering from the downward spiral of automotive companies. Rental car companies are being forced to cut the amount of new cars they order in 2009.
According to Automotive News; “In 2008, rental companies bought 1.5 million new cars and trucks, down from 1.9 million in 2007, sales are expected to fall even more in 2009 as rental companies shrink their vehicle fleets.” Rental companies aren’t in the running for any government bailouts, so good luck reserving anything but an abused 2008 PR Cruiser.
To put this into perspective – Enterprise Rent-A-Car expects to buy 400,000 new vehicles in the 2009. This is roughly half of the amount from previous years.
Farrell said Enterprise now keeps its rental vehicles in service for an average of 13 months, up from 11 months. Enterprise is also one of GM’s biggest customers, along with Chrysler brand vehicles. Hertz, which orders sports car like the newer Mustang and Dodge Challenger, may have to cut their specialty rentals. It’s a trickle down effect that also hurts used car sales and auctioning. Many rental car companies resell their vehicles to such businesses.
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