The middle east car rental market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.32%, during the forecast period, 2020-2025.

  • The increase in rental fleets since 2010 has been majorly due to the increasing competition among rental players, in terms of pricing and quality, which, in turn, has led to the expansion of the market in the country. A remarkable growth in inbound tourism, along with a spike in car fleet size by the major companies augmented the market’s presence significantly since 2015.
  • Online tourist vehicle bookings are increasing in the region, due to rising usage of smartphones and growth in the number of users aged between 25 and 34 years, who prefer to book vehicle rentals through online channels.
  • Currently, online booking also serves a variety of purposes, such as verification of documents of the renter, offering information to the renter regarding the car, services like drop and pickup of the rented car at a certain place, e-signing contracts, and cashless transactions. These factors have helped car renting companies gain a competitive edge over their competitors, during the past few years.
  • Among the Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia is one of the most famous pilgrimage places in the region. The country has holy sites, like Mecca and Medina that witness the vast influx of tourists during Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha festivals.



Key Market Trends

Online Rental Booking Continues to Witness Major Demand

In the region, most of the customers prefer renting cars online. As the car rental market experiences a growth in the demand during peak holiday seasons, people tend to book cars in advance. Only a handful of cars are booked through rental stores, and that too, mostly during the off season.

Currently, booking online also serves a variety of purposes, such as verification of documents of the renter, offering information to the renter regarding the car, determining the details of drop and pickup of the rented car at a certain place, e-signing of contracts, and cashless transactions. These have helped the car rental companies to gain a competitive edge over their peers, during the past few years.

Furthermore, the trend of online renting a car through apps has improved over the period. As app developers have been designing mobile rental applications with more advanced booking features that offer more vehicle availability and comparable rental costs on a single platform. For instance, OneClickDrive.com is the United Arab Emirates’ largest online platform for car rentals and car leasing. It offers users the choice of more than 700 cars from 50 rent-a- car companies at one place.

Saudi Arabia Capturing a Major Market Share

The country has an annual visitor count of over 16 million, most of which occurs in the month of Ramadan, and thus, majority of the tourism in the country is considered religious. As per the WTTC, tourism contributed 9% to the Saudi Arabian GDP of USD 65 billion. Most visitors in the country are from Asia and nearby Middle Eastern countries. Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals are the biggest contributors among the tourists, followed by Indonesia, Yemen, India, and Egypt.

Additionally, the country has recently lifted a ban on women from driving vehicles. This move allowed numerous women to drive and helped the demand in the car rental market grow by leaps and bounds, as many women with valid driving licenses were finally able to access rented cars on their own.

Competitive Landscape

The intensity of competition in the market has been growing over the past five years with emergence of both international players as well as local players. Some of the major and well-known car rental players in the region include Hertz, Avis. Sixt SE, Enterprise, Hanco etc.

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