Rental cars – the largest agencies in the world
When it comes to rental cars, there are a number of agencies that dominate the industry no matter in which part of the world you want to rent a car. In the compilation below we have listed some of the largest agencies globally.
- Enterprise Holdings
- Avis Budget Group Inc
- Hertz Global Holdings Inc
- Sixt SE
- Europcar Mobility Group SA
Enterprise Holdings
The American company Enterprise Holdings is the largest one in the world when it comes to rental car services, and in total they operate almost two million vehicles. The company has been on the market since the 1950’s, and today they provide services in more than 90 countries globally. Enterprise Holdings is the parent company of three well known rental agencies – Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car.
Avis Budget Group Inc
Avis Budget Group Inc is the parent company of agencies Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent A Car and Zipcar. With more than 600,000 vehicles in business, this American company offers their rental car services in more than 180 countries around the world.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc
Together with the two previously mentioned rental agencies, Hertz Global Holdings Inc is one of three major agencies that operates in the US. Hertz Global Holdings Inc is the parent company of main brand Hertz and agencies Dollar Rent A Car, Thrifty Car Rental and Firefly Car Rental. You can find their services in more than 150 countries globally.
Sixt SE
Sixt SE is a German rental agency that started its business back in the 1910’s. You can find Sixt SE rental services in about 100 countries. The operator is one of the major players on the European market but is fairly new in the US, establishing their business there in 2011.
Europcar Mobility Group SA
Another large car rental agency found in Europe is the French operator Europcar Mobility Group SA. This company offers their services in about 140 countries around the world. Their presence in the US increased in 2019 when they purchased the American car rental agency Fox Rent A Car.
Do I need rental car insurance?
No matter which rental company you turn to, the question of insurance will surely appear. Figuring out if you should get insurance or not isn’t always easy – here you can learn more about the different options available.
Normally you have three different alternatives when it comes to insuring your rental car – choose between using your own auto insurance, buying insurance at the rental agency or getting the car insured through a third party insurer.
If you own a car and have auto insurance, in most cases you will get the same coverage for the rental car as you do for your own car. At least this is the case if the value of the rental car is similar to the value of your car, and if you use the rental car for personal purposes. Make sure you double check with your insurance company to learn their policy and figure out if you need additional insurance or not.
If you don’t have any auto insurance, you can purchase insurance for your rental car at the agency or from a third party insurer. Each option has various benefits. Choosing a third party insurer is normally cheaper, and you might also be able to choose to pay for annual cover. Another positive is that you can get assistance from the third party insurer if you have a disagreement with the rental company about some charge.
To buy your insurance straight from the rental agency is normally the most convenient option. Also, in case of an accident, you won’t need to pay first and then claim the money back. Instead the rental company will handle the payments for you.
The final option is to not buy any additional insurance, and rely on the basic cover that is included in your rental agreement. This is obviously the cheapest option as long as you don’t experience any damages or get into an accident. But if you do, this will quickly turn into the priciest alternative.
Booking a rental car online
If you want to rent a car online, there are a few different options to choose from. If you know which rental car service you prefer, you can turn straight to them and book your car at the website.
Another option is to use a comparison site such as rentalcars.com. At this kind of website you can normally find offers from most of the major car rental agencies worldwide. This makes it easy to compare prices and conditions to get the best option possible according to your needs.