After several difficult years, the French car rental market is picking up again. At least, that's the message sent out on Thursday by the CNPA, which, buoyed by the good results recorded in 2014, is talking of a "new lease of life" for the industry. The figures presented by GMV Conseil attest to this: the lights are well and truly on green, as evidenced by the volume of rentals, which recorded double-digit growth (+10%) between 2012 and 2014, and the number of lessees, which is also up sharply: 7.5 million in 2014, compared with 6.2 million in 2012.
Of course, not all the sector's components are following this upward trajectory at the same speed. The 'business' segment remains relatively stable (31% of rentals for PCs, as in 2012), while car-sharing is up three points, from 5% in 2012 to 8% in 2014. The figure even reached 23% in Ile-de-France.
Source: GMV Conseil
Nevertheless, the CNPA does not have Autolib in its ranks - negotiations have reportedly begun - but it does have ideas... Although not yet adopted, its proposal to authorise electric vehicles to use bus lanes has reportedly met with a positive response from the public authorities. And the gradual integration of car-sharing offers by traditional car hire companies, such as Avis with Zipcar and soon Sixt, should help to put the LCD sector on the road to diversity. Well aware that the growth of these new forms of mobility is opening up new horizons for short-term car hire, the CNPA intends to continue its efforts to integrate as effectively as possible into this fast-changing ecosystem.
