Hertz bankrupt in the USA, Europcar on a public money infusion in France ... The big names in car rental have been hit by the coronavirus crisis. On the other hand, the new players, these platforms which bring together individuals / owners and individuals / renters are doing surprisingly well. "The 35,000 cars listed on our site throughout France are under assault," says Benoît Sineau, owner of OuiCar (2.3 million members). On the side of Getaround (ex-Drivy, the French start-up bought in 2019 by this American competitor), the demand would be such that the available car fleet is no longer enough.
"We did not expect such a rapid rebound," says Jean-Baptiste Casaux, Director of Development Europe at Getaround. Our cars belong either to individuals or to companies that offer fleets in the free floating mode. Some of them are equipped with a box allowing individuals / rental companies to take possession of them without meeting the owner when exchanging keys. Getaround wishes to install several thousand additional boxes in the coming weeks, while adding new services: cleaning, refueling, recovery of the vehicle, etc.
What are the advantages of renting between individuals? If prices are not necessarily more attractive than with traditional rental companies, flexibility is a sought-after advantage. While Avis and company are very established in stations and airports, rental companies between individuals are… everywhere and cars are directly geolocated around your home. They therefore respond rather to a local demand, organized around leisure.
The mess of cars that stay parked 90% of the time
Let's take a few examples on the price side. The rental of a city car (Peugeot 108 or similar) from Paris, with a conventional rental company, for a week from July 11 to 18, 1,700 kilometers, starts on Carigami at 284 euros at Avis. You have to go to the agency in the 20th arrondissement to get it. On OuiCar, an individual offers you his Fiat 500 cabriolet of 2019 for 338 euros, available in the 15th. On Getaround, still for a recent Fiat 500, still in Paris XV, it will cost you 314 euros for 1,200 kilometers. But similar rates are available in most other capital boroughs, depending on where you live.
On the other hand, for individuals / rental companies, this makes it possible to make your vehicle profitable. “A car costs its owner on average 6,000 euros per year, recalls Benoît Sineau. But she stays in the garage 90% of the time. A real mess. The platforms between individuals make it possible to partially recover these capital costs. How much? Yes, for example, receives a commission of 30%, of which 15% is paid to its insurer Axa. The owner of a Renault Clio IV Estate from 2014 can thus recover from his pocket 112 euros net for four days of rental per month. That of a Renault Captur of 2016: 252 euros for 9 days. More original? A Citroën 2 CV: 416 euros, always for 9 days.
