Car hire continues to grow and attract new customers

Long-term hire (NLT) continues to grow. According to Aniasa data, the managed fleet at the halfway point of the half-year had increased by almost 3 per cent compared with the end of 2025. Operators are registering 15 per cent more vehicles than last year, whilst captive operators are doing exactly the opposite (-15 per cent), but this is because in 2025 they had registered too many vehicles to help manufacturers meet their BEV and PHEV targets. It is likely that the overall shortfall of 3,500 vehicles will be made up in the coming months, partly thanks to young operators who have recently entered the market and are targeting individual customers, VAT-registered businesses and those with tax identification numbers – the real frontier of the NLT sector. So, the product is in good health in the market, but there is no shortage of challenges, particularly when it comes to winning over those who are not yet fully convinced.

Fleet operators have worked hard and effectively to improve efficiency, in order to reduce costs and remain competitive on price – which, for businesses, is a key factor in choosing one operator over another. However, service is also important – and perhaps even more so for smaller businesses. So, a few months ago, two operators – leaders in their respective fields, Targa Telematics and Escargo – commissioned a survey of 121 industry professionals to analyse the current state of long-term leasing (NLT) after-sales service.

First of all, it should be noted that nowadays many services are provided by parties outside the car hire company: the broker to acquire the customer and finalise the contract, others for vehicle delivery, others for servicing and tyres, and finally others to provide a replacement car; and, at the end of the contract, a specialist firm to assess the vehicle’s condition. What impact has this extensive use of outsourcing had? For a start, the car hire company’s understanding of the customer’s actual needs has deteriorated, according to 61 per cent of respondents. The time taken to deliver services has worsened for 45 per cent and remained the same for 30 per cent. For 61 per cent, both the alignment of services with the customer’s actual needs and the perceived quality have deteriorated. The irony is that the overall cost of each service has remained the same for 41 per cent, and only a third believe it has improved – that is, decreased.

More specifically, the situation is that a single maintenance service involves the involvement of several separate suppliers: one to authorise the work, one to supply the spare parts, then the party that physically carries out the work and, where applicable, the party providing the logistics. This fragmentation, whilst undoubtedly necessary for cost control, has had significant repercussions. According to 82 per cent of the panel, vehicle downtime has increased; for 27 per cent, the overall cost of the service has remained the same; and for 46 per cent, it has risen (though, to be honest, there is no evidence of how much it would have risen in the absence of these checks), and three-quarters of industry professionals believe that customer satisfaction has declined.

But you can tell how the day will go from the start, and indeed, things start to take a certain turn as soon as the vehicle is handed over. Car hire companies rely on various handover centres, but they are not always fully aware of the service these centres provide. Starting with adherence to the agreed appointment and ensuring the car is ready and matches the booking: half of respondents believe that the car hire company is very/fairly well-informed. The assessment is even harsher when it comes to a full explanation of the car (76 per cent believe that car hire companies are poorly/not at all informed on this), the quality of customer service (67 per cent say they are poorly/not at all informed) and customer satisfaction with the overall service (65 per cent believe they are not very well informed or not at all informed).