Car hire firms are warning of high prices and diminished stocks this summer as the consequences for industry of the earthquake in Japan play havoc with rental fleets.
The Japanese motor industry ground to a halt after the earthquake and most of the principle manufacturers have yet to return to pre-disaster output. Toyota says that it doesn’t know when normal production levels will be resumed and Honda has announced that output will only reach around 50% of pre-quake levels by mid-April.
The closure of the Japanese plants has affected European manufacturers too: last week, Peugeot Citroën announced the closure of a Slovakian plant due to a shortage of Japanese-made components, and the few cars that are being built aren’t destined for the rental fleets, warns Simeon Linstead, of Insurance4carhire.com.
“Those that are being produced are being prioritised to dealerships not car-hire companies,” he said. “This threatens a lack of supply as the summer progresses.”
Sandra Downs at Holiday Autos said vehicle shortages were already becoming an issue across Europe and were likely to impact on summer prices. “Manufacturers are starting to say that they are likely to face difficulties in getting key components,” she said.
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Spain is likely to be worst affected: the Egyptian crisis has seen a massive increase in the country’s popularity, leaving car-hire fleets — which are depleted by a lack of credit last year and a lack of new models now — struggling to cope with demand.
“The problem is different this year,” said Javier Tortuz at Spanish hire firm Autos ES. “Then we knew how many cars we had available, even if we could get no new ones. This year, the fleets can only get smaller as we lose cars through lack of parts and are unable to replace them.”
The answer for holiday-makers, says Insurance4carhire, is to book now. “Booking as early as possible will help in terms of money-saving and choice of vehicles,” says Linstead. “But you should still keep an eye on prices after booking your car, as you may be able to cancel your agreement for a cheaper alternative nearer your holiday — dependent on the terms and conditions.”
As the Easter break approaches, hire prices are already rocketing, according to the car-hire comparison site Carrentals.co.uk. The price of a week’s economy rental has risen by more than 90% in the past three weeks at Faro airport, while a seven-day rental from Geneva is up 60% in the same period.