The cost of hiring a car abroad has dropped across a number of holiday destinations throughout Europe, according to new research which uncovered average price drops of 40 per cent compared to figures from 2013.

Affordable car hire company autoeurope.co.uk analysed its rates with its suppliers over a five-year period in a number of popular sunshine hotspots, including: Alicante; Barcelona; Malaga; Nice; Palma and Tenerife, all of which have seen holiday car hire rates become increasingly cheaper.

The figure was calculated using the average daily rate for holiday car hire across the continent between the months of April and August.

The best savings are to be found at Barcelona Airport, with prices less than the average saving across the rest Europe.

Picking up a large family car in Barcelona could see you save more than half (55%) compared to 2013. The rental price is now as low as £22.72 per day (a further 15% saving compared to the average daily rate across the continent), where it was £51.27 per day in 2013.

The savings throughout popular Spanish holiday hotspots continue. The price for a ‘mini-sized’ vehicle in Alicante start at £33.18 a week, compared to £62.16 in 2013, saving holidaymakers 47% (£28.98).

The same saving (47%) can be enjoyed with a hire car in Faro, Portugal, as daily rates for a ‘mini-economy’ start from as little as £5.68 in 2017, compared to £10.72 in 2013.

Meanwhile, in Palma, Mallorca, the start price to hire a ‘mini-sized’ car for a week is £45.43 in 2017, compared to £78.82 five years ago (42% saving). In Tenerife, day rates are now as low as £7.06 compared to £12.07 in 2013 (41% saving).

The lowest price for a standard car in from Malaga in the Costa Del Sol is £142 for seven days. This works out at around £20 a day, a saving of 24% on 2013 prices (£184.73).

The savings aren’t restricted to Spain and its Islands, however, with the price to hire a car for a week in popular South of France resort Nice coming in £30 cheaper than it was five years ago, which is a saving of almost 20% for a ‘compact-sized’ vehicle.

There are also savings to be had in Italy. Although prices aren’t as low as neighbouring Spanish or French resorts, you can still pick up a ‘mini-sized’ vehicle for as little as £14.56 a day compared to the daily rate of £18.45 in 2013 - that’s more than a 20% saving!

Significant discounts can be had on convertibles or premium category cars too, making affordable luxury even more appealing.

Over the five-year period, prices have dropped by an average of 21% across these categories, meaning that you can drive away an Audi or SUV for as little as £36.48, compared to £46.22 a day in 2013.

A spokesperson for autoeurope.co.uk, said: “There’s never been a better time to take advantage of hiring a car on a European holiday, especially since rental prices are at the lowest they’ve ever been according to our data.

There’s also good news for holidaymakers who prefer to stay closer to home, with similar low prices for hiring a car in the UK having also dropped.

It can now cost as little as £11.62 a day to hire a car in London – a city where you might have expected rates to have inflated although this isn’t the case – as the data shows a 22% decrease compared to five years ago.

The spokesperson for autoeurope.co.uk, continued: “We’ve seen car hire rates drop significantly across the UK also within the last few years in addition to the most popular European holiday hotspots.

“There are even cheaper deals to be had that are lower than the average daily rate that we’ve identified, it’s just a matter of choosing when you want to travel and booking in advance to see what’s available at the time.

“The lowest prices are likely to go up, however, as more people leave it late to make their main holiday bookings, often at the very last minute.”


Top Tips to find the best value deals on holiday car hire:

• Book early to secure the car category you want and ensure that it is suitable for you and the size of your family that will be traveling in the vehicle with you – leaving it to last minute could mean there’s a limited number of vehicles available.
• Book at least a month in advance as buying ahead is always cheaper than walking up to the counter – shop online using aggregator sites to find the best value deals with car hire suppliers.
• Search for all car types to get the best price - not just the smallest – as economy cars can be cheaper than a mini economy.

Ends

Notes to Editors

Autoeurope.co.uk analysed its own sales data over a five year period that reveals its rates with its suppliers across popular European destinations between April – August 2013 and April – August 2017.

For media enquiries, please contact:
sam.bramwell@axonn.co.uk or 0207 517 2207.