How do you think the future of the car rental industry will be shaped by technology in the next 5-10 years?

I used to work in Rent a car industry for a couple of years then i became a board member for car rental company and looking into what changes are taking place i expect that within 10 years there will be no need for a human being to deliver the car since we have self driving cars, it will be fully depending on AI bots from estimating the cost of operation, it will have massive transformation depending on the technology. Imagine that the cars will be mostly electrical, mostly self driving and it will require less maintenance meaning less cost, the competition will be very sever the pay per Kilo/per mile will expand dramatically. It is going to be "per demand " industry and it will mingle with finance leasing, leasing ending with ownership etc.. hope this helps.

The next 5 to 10 years in the car rental industry will focus on digitalization, sustainability, and a technology-driven customer-centric approach. The integration of electric and autonomous vehicles, along with shared mobility models, will create a more flexible and eco-friendly rental landscape. By embracing these advancements, the industry will deliver efficient, personalized, and sustainable services that meet the evolving needs of businesses and consumers.

The car rental industry has already evolved and is expected to majorly transition online. This implies consumers would be able to rent cars on an on-demand basis through their mobile phones easily. For car rental companies, managing their rental fleet, and keeping track of customers and bookings would also get easier. However, this will result in a major challenge. To stay competitive, all offline players will need to adapt to digital transformation. Even to reach customers and build an online presence, businesses will need a multi-functional car rental website that updates customers on all required information and accepts 24/7 bookings.

Along with bookings, operations such as collecting rental security, tracking overdue returns, and resolving consumer issues and complaints, all will be shifted offline. For the majority of the changes mentioned above, we don’t need to wait for years. Instead, we can see them happening shortly. Car rental companies have already started to make their online transition. In value proposition, they are standing head-to-toe with incumbents like Budget-Avis Group, GetAround, Europcar, and Turo.

The presence of many rental software and solutions, such as YoRent, and Sharetribe have made it even easier to make the digital transition. Players who go digital fast would be able to reap the same benefits, follow-ups may lose some competitive edge.
You can browse YoRent’s offerings by clicking here https://www.yo-rent.com/car-rental-software.html , if you’re planning to launch a scalable car rental business.

That's a really interesting question! I've used to build the strategy team focused on long-term planning for the key ride-hailing player in Europe and Africa! High-level I would say that the overall habit of owning a car is changing with people leaning more towards cars per subscription and ride-hailing. Tapping into these 2 segments is key for any player in this industry

In 5-10 years, because of self driving capabilities, new and emerging ride hailing businesses will offer a service for renting their autonomous fleets or units for a longer period of time.