Saudi car rental market biggest in Middle East

THE share of Saudi Arabia is the largest within the entire car rental market in Middle East with reference to the overall revenues in 2015. Saudi Arabia car rental and leasing market has grown at a positive CAGR of 0.6% over the period, 2010-2015. The expected growth rests on a number of factors, including population growth, the growing numbers of pilgrims, Umrah performers and visiting businessmen coupled with the developmental plans experienced by the Kingdom in oil and nonoil sectors. The car rental industry in Saudi Arabia has been dominated by the organized segment, Ken Research said in its latest publication on “Saudi Arabia Car Rental and Leasing Market Outlook to 2020 – Religious Tourism and Short Term Car Rental to Stimulate Growth” which provides a comprehensive analysis of the Car Rental Market in Middle East. Saudi Arabia car rental and leasing market has been majorly dominated by brands namely Best, Hanco, Budget, Avis, Hertz, Europcar and others. The market has been dominated by branded players due to widespread availability of different car variants and affordability in terms of pricing. Majority of the international tourists in the country prefer online car booking in advance. Therefore, the presence of branded players such as Budget, Thrifty and Hertz allow international tourists to do prior booking as compared to the other local players. Branded players offer a variety of car types and have a larger fleet size as compared to the local players Saudi Arabia car rental and leasing market is one of the mature markets in the Middle East region with a consistent and steady growth rate. The market is driven by competitive pricing (in terms of profit margins), induction of innovative technology by organized players and increasingly investing in luxury cars to cater the demands of their customers. Projection for the future suggests that the market for car rental is expected to witness promising growth, with revenues is expected to mount to $745 million by 2020.