THE UK’s leading vehicle rental organisation reports drivers are cutting the distances covered in their cars.
Over the past two years, average miles driven per rental from National Car Rental have decreased by nearly 19 per cent.
The average rental mileage is 459 miles, down from 564 miles in 2005. The company says this is possibly triggered by environmental concerns.
But rising costs of fuel could also be a factor – as could the increasing popularity of sat nav. Simply, business user are getting lost less! And the benefits for us? Lots more six-month-old small and medium-sized cars with total mileages one-fifth lower than they used to be.
This could help prop up values in a marketplace under attack. The wider availability of sensible-mileage stock will also be more attractive to customers – and possibly even widen the gap between higher-mileage vehicles.
There is one trend counter to this, though. Estate mileages increased by 15.4% and people carriers by 14.6% in the period 2006-2007. This indicates people are choosing more spacious cars for longer journeys.
Whilst the majority of rentals from National Car Rental are of small and medium sized vehicles, this increase in the mileages incurred in larger vehicles indicates people are choosing more spacious cars for longer journeys.
