Car-rental groups hit by Detroit difficulties
Published March 5th, 2007
A drive by the three Detroit-based carmakers to wean themselves from low-margin sales to car-hire fleets is complicating life for several other key operators in the North American motor industry.
The message from General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler, says Neil Abrams, a car-rental consultant, is that “while we loved you guys in the past, that love is now gone and we’re going over to more lucrative segments”.
GM disclosed last week that its sales to daily-rental fleets were a quarter lower in February than a year earlier. Ford’s sales were down almost a third.
The shift is forcing car-rental companies to find new ways of buying and selling vehicles.
