The worldwide car rental market was valued at over $92 billion in 2019.  It is projected to reach $214 billion by 2027. It’s seeing staggering growth, as the major providers scramble to keep up with the demand, the technical aspects of online booking systems, and the presence of online car sharing platforms. Let’s take a look at the major players in the car rental game, and how they are adapting, in the face of competition for car share providers.  

Business is Booming for Car Rental Providers

We’ve all seen the growth of booking apps in many fields; car rental is among them. More and more, people see less use for owning a car, especially when so many rental options are making it easier to procure a vehicle for only when they need one.  They also recognize the competition from car sharing apps such as the Greater Toronto Area’s own RideAlike. 

Consumers are also seeking more personalized services from their car rental provider.  The emergence of Covid 19 has only added to the desire for privacy and safety, which a rental vehicle can provide versus, for example, public transit or even carpooling. As a result, car rental is booming, and likely will continue to for the foreseeable future.

Canada’s Car Rental Market

All the major players in the car rental marketplace exist in our country, in addition to several newer vehicle sharing services, such as the aforementioned RideAlike platform with apps android and IOS, in the GTA.  Suddenly, anyone with a satisfactory quality vehicle can be a car renter, in miniature, or even develop a fleet of their own rental vehicles.  Car owners can earn extra money, while the public can access their cars, SUVs, trucks, or vans, whether for a few hours, or for several days. RideAlike’s innovative platform is committed to transforming consumers’ biggest depreciating asset, their car, into a value-generating revenue driver. Toronto car owners can take advantage of RideAlike, simply and easily, via their signup page.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits of ten of the most popular car rental, and car sharing apps on the market today.  Keep in mind; these are not ride sharing platforms such as Uber or Lyft.  You’re not hiring a car and driver – you are renting or borrowing a vehicle.  Some of these apps are from traditional car rental agencies, while others are from newer ride share services.  These apps are downloadable from Google Play or Apple App Store for free; you can also visit their respective websites.

RideAlike

RideAlike is one of the newest car sharing platforms in Canada, serving the Greater Toronto Area, and expanding out from there.  Whether you are looking for a car to borrow, or list your car on their platform, they probably have an option for you. This Canadian company’s app is also available for free download on Google Play and in the Apple App Store.

Key Features

  • 24/7 Roadside Assistance
  • Safe, Sanitized Vehicles
  • Verified Guests & Hosts
  • Access to RideAlike Support
  • All features are easily accessible on iOS, Android, and Web
  • Have an extended test drive in a vehicle before buying
  • Swap/ exchange your vehicle for a different one and enjoy the passion of driving
  • You can easily list a car and earn up to $750+ each month

Turo

Turo is one of the first peer-to-peer car-sharing companies.  It has grown exponentially in the last couple of years, from the USA, to over 50 countries around the globe. You can choose from a wide range of cars and options, on a very user-friendly platform. Using the Turo app, you can browse the car inventory by type, including options for electric, deluxe and super-deluxe, and pet friendly.

Main Features

  • Choose your car from a wide variety of car choices
  • Book cars directly from local hosts
  • AI integrated chatbot for better communication
  • The host can manage and monitor the performance of the car through its app

Getaround

Getaround operates in the USA and several countries in Europe. With personalized earnings reports and predictive pricing algorithms, a host can maximize monthly earnings through this platform. It is very safe, and trustworthy, as all the Getaround guests must pass a driver safety screening, and the platform provides 24/7 customer support for the hosts.

Features

  • A fast and straightforward process, for verification of renting, or hosting a car rental
  • Users can reserve a car on an hourly or daily basis
  • Both host and guest can easily scroll through available vehicles with no limits
  • Getaround ensures a secure, keyless entry to their vehicles
  • Users can locate and unlock the cars using their phone

Kayak

Kayak is a full service travel service platform, where you can plan your entire trip on the one website, including flight, hotel, and car rental. The app has a step-by-step instruction manual which is very user friendly. 

Some of the Features

  • Safe booking via the app without re-entering the traveler’s data and credit card information
  • You can filter your car choices according to your specific needs 
  • Price forecast ability eliminates any surprises at payment time 
  • The app can navigate the users around the airport, with step-by-step directions on the device

Zipcar

Zipcar is a car sharing service that has been around for quite some time. It became so popular, that it was subsequently acquired by the car rental giant Avis Budget Group.  With Zipcar, you can book a round trip car by the hour or day, and use the app to unlock and lock the vehicle during your trip. The platform provides a Zipcard to members, which is used to access the vehicle. Once done with the vehicle, users park the car in the same location it was picked up, and end the trip with the app.

Key Features

  • Users can get a car by check-in options on the app
  • Maintenance of upcoming travel details in one place (car’s location, details on reservation changes, etc.)
  • Unlock the car with the Zipcard unlocking features
  • The app has multilingual communication capability 
  • Adjust or extend the car service on the go

Enterprise

Enterprise is number one in the traditional car rental agency market.  Features on their customized rental platform allow for a lot of flexibility for the car renter. They have more than 250 makes and models, of all types – cars, SUVs, and trucks. Enterprise ranks among the biggest and best in the world. 

Features

  • Settings allow you to narrow your search and filtering vehicles, and saves rental details for future reservations 
  • Emergency road assistance and consumer support service 24/7
  • Visit your nearest location, they are just about everywhere, 750 locations in Canada
  • Customer loyalty – earn and redeem points for free rental periods 
  • Quick signing applying fingertip recognition technology

Hertz

Another one of the biggest traditional car rental agencies, Hertz has a huge range of luxury, sports, and hybrid cars available to meet every individual’s needs, whether renting a car for business, personal use, or vacation.  Luxury models include Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Tesla, and more.

Key Features

  • Users can have easy access to future reservation details
  • Easy accessibility of receipts for expense tracking
  • Users can utilize SpotHero to search and get parking slots
  • Faster booking and check-in options by saving previous car rentals  
  • Social media sign up including Facebook

Skyscanner

This Scotland-based meta search engine has no hidden fees, and no hidden charges. They boast 100 million users a month – flights, hotel, and car rental. It has grown to be a large player in the travel looking market.

Main Features

  • Book your whole trip with a single app
  • Search and compare flight prices before booking  
  • Customizable flight search including flight duration, departure and arrival duration, and travel class
  • Select the car rental spot and pickup location through the app

SIXT

Sixt boasts being the first car rental agency in the world – originally with a fleet of three vehicles – in Bavaria, 1912. It has never looked back.  Sixt was the first car rental venture with a website, and the first to provide a mobile reservation service. Today it is present in over 105 countries, with over 4,000 locations the world over. They offer convenient locations such as airports, train stations, cruise ports, and hotels.

Key Features

  • Bookings with their vehicle sharing commercial center platform, with few restrictions on term, drop-offs
  • A premium fleet with the latest models
  • An individual can access numerous profiles with a single login 
  • Full visibility of pending reservations and history of past reservations 
  • Pre-plan a vehicle reservation, and pay securely with credit card

Expedia

Expedia is the $4 billion travel booking behemoth originally founded as a division of Microsoft in 1996. Spun off in 1999, it has since grown to be a dominant player in the world of consumer and small business travel.

Key Features

  • The app covers car rentals, along with airplane flights and hotels
  • The app can be used to find bundles on hotel, flights, and car rentals, which can result in savings  
  • Discovery features, for those travelling to a city that they are not familiar with 
  • Strong on travel services, not as much on car rental

The Long and Short of Car Rental Options

There is an ever-changing landscape in the world of car rental, including the recent development of peer-to-peer car sharing.  The traditional car agencies remain huge, but the upstarts have proven there is room for them, too.  For the end user, there is more and more choice, to the point where you can rent a vehicle the old-fashioned way, or through a car sharing app, or even earn income by offering your car up, on a car share app.  The sheer amount of choice is mind-boggling.  Happy driving.